


Not so Lonely Anymore

by ItsNacchi



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, I will be adding more side characters to these, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prupan, oh yeah there are side ships too but i'm not going to tag them i will just put it in my notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-03-16 09:29:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 94,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3483086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsNacchi/pseuds/ItsNacchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This will be a series of longer than usual one shots. Some will be interrelated and others won't. Like the tag suggests this is for the 30 Day OTP Challenge so it'll be 30 chapters of these dorks. I'll definitely add more characters/mention others during these. The rating will change depending on some chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1 - Holding hands

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm doing this but I do like to keep my brain active especially with this pair :). OH also warning to anyone reading, the rating will definitely go UP to explicit/mature depending on my inspiration/mood. I know myself so don't trust me to strictly stick to Teen rating. And I'll definitely be switching to AUs too~ 
> 
> So here's Day 1: Holding Hands
> 
> (This has implied FRUK/F.A.C.E. Family)

He had been trying to be as stealthy as possible for the past few hours. He was _almost_ there. He could practically taste victory! Gilbert was sort of listening sort of not to Alfred rant on about how Arthur and Francis were driving him nuts and it creeped him out on how he could practically feel the sexual tension between them every time those two were in the same room. The fact Arthur thought Alfred or Matthew hadn’t caught on—well Alfred just face palmed at that. He knew he was oblivious to a lot and he liked to play dumb but he wasn’t actually stupid. Alfred had no idea how Matthew dealt with it at home though.  
  
As Kiku intently listened to the blond go on Gilbert felt it was the perfect chance again. The smaller male kept his hands still at his sides in the space between them as Gilbert moved one of his hands a little closer and lightly felt the other's skin against his own under the table. He slowly, casually bumped his hand against the Japanese's and ran his fingertips along the other's hand. He knew he should have just grabbed the other’s hand and interlocked fingers but this was very nice, nicer than he imagined. Kiku's hand was pretty soft and cool to the touch but he wanted to keep his hand there much longer. Sadly it came to an end when the smaller male flinched away at the contact (more due to surprise and not the contact itself) and figured he'd simply bring his hand up to the table instead because that had been quite a few times within the past hour.  
  
_'My hand must be getting in the way of Gilbert-kun's. How rude of me.'_  
  
Gilbert frowned because _mein gott_ what a fail. He should have taken his chance. But wait, maybe—did his slight passes annoy Kiku? But he was being as discreet as he could! Gilbert returned his attention to the blond with glasses and he went on some more as the albino pouted.

 

“—So then I figured I’d just—”

 

“Uhm… Alfred-san?”

 

He took another big sip of his soda. “What is it Keeks?”

 

“You shouldn’t be eating so unhealthy.”

 

“Aw you worry too much! Besides I’m stress eating.” Alfred smiled.

 

“Stress eating?” The Japanese raised an eyebrow.

 

“Yeah, you know, to work off my stress I just occupy myself with something else! In this case some good ol’ hamburgers and soda!”

 

Kiku frowned and wasn’t sure if he felt bad or disgusted or both as he continued watching his friend devour burger after burger with little to no effort. Gilbert sighed as he rested his face on the palm of his hand.

 

“You know Alfred, why don’t you just tell Arthur and Francis to screw already?”

 

Kiku gaped and Alfred stopped slurping his soda so nosily as he finally set it down.

 

“I did tell them that.”

“Kesesese! What did they say?”

“Well, Francis said something like _‘oh but MON CHER I HAVE TRIED~’_ and then Artie went on cursing at him calling him an annoying perverted frog and yadda yadda.”

Gilbert whistled. “Wow, so Francis is having a rough time getting laid?”

“Yeah. Driving me and Mattie nuts.”

Kiku simply withdrew from the conversation. That wasn’t exactly his area of _expertise_.

“Why not get Arthur drunk?” Gilbert said lazily with his eyes closed, growing a bit bored of the topic.

“Gilbert-kun! You can’t just get someone drunk and expect them to have sexual relations.” The Japanese replied appalled at the response.

Gilbert opened an eye to look at Kiku smirking.

“With Arthur, you can. The guy’s hopeless when he’s drunk.”

“That is not appropriate—”

“ACTUALLY THAT’S A GREAT IDEA. I’ll tell Francis that they can have the house to themselves tonight and get Mattie out of there. Then I’ll just get Artie to go talk to Francis by telling him he has something important to say. Yeah, _yeah_. And Francis can take it from there. Alcohol loosens you up ya know?! Don’t worry Keeks! Thanks Gil.”

Kiku was horrified at the obvious relief Alfred displayed. While it was true that alcohol did lower inhibitions, he was only thinking of the worst case scenario but still—and before he could say anything the American dashed out of his seat and left a tip on the table for the waitress.

“I’ll SEE YOU GUYS LATER!” Alfred waved before he ran out the door putting his phone over his ear already in a call.

“Ja, laters Alfred.” Gilbert waved.

Kiku hadn’t responded and watched the other disappear.

“Gilbert-kun.” Kiku said sternly as he puffed out his cheeks turning to his partner.

“Hm?” The albino was still not looking over at the other.

“You cannot simply advise alcohol as a problem solver!”

“Why not? We always have a good time drinking.”

Kiku sighed. “In moderation yes but it doesn’t solve arguments…especially with the way Arthur-san drinks.”

Gilbert decided to look over at the Japanese as he opened his eyes and smiled. “Aw come on Kiku. It’d just be a helper it wouldn’t be the _solution_. Do you not have faith in Francis? Mein gott the guy has such patience. I wouldn’t be able to deal with that.”

Kiku’s face softened. “You’re right… Francis-san has always been patient and understanding with Arthur-san.”

They smiled at one another and Gilbert noticed one of Kiku’s hands still on the table. A thought suddenly came to him. Why not? They were alone now.

“Say Kiku, want to head back to my place?”

“That sounds nice. Sure, Gilbert-kun.”

“Great!”

He reached over and grabbed the smaller male’s hand interlocking their fingers as he firmly held on. They walked out of the burger joint shortly after while Kiku felt an instant rush of heat on his cheeks.

“Gilbert-kun.” Kiku said softly.

“Ja? What is it?” Gilbert replied smiling contently as they walked.

“Have you been trying to hold my hand the whole day?”

“Was I that obvious?” Gilbert frowned.

“Not really. I assumed my hand was in the way or I simply wasn’t watching where my hand moved to.”

The albino chuckled as he lifted their interlocked hands up to eye level.

“Why wouldn’t I want to hold your hand? I just didn’t want to do it in front of Alfred since I know you’re not comfortable with that stuff.”

Kiku’s lips curved into a smile at the thoughtfulness. “Gilbert-kun you are very considerate. Thank you.”

“Of course the awesome _me_ is considerate.”

Kiku softly laughed. He chose not to mention on how he noticed Gilbert taking the longer and more secluded way to his house too. He'd let the albino have his way. When Gilbert did things like this, Kiku couldn’t help his face from flushing even more as he avoided looking over at his partner. Kiku didn't realize that Gilbert was just as pink as him from holding hands. 


	2. Day 2 - Cuddling Somewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title is self explanatory. Just shameless cuddling because I can.

He passed the time waiting for Japan to come home, but Prussia didn’t mind. Apparently Japan was called over to meet up with Turkey about something. The albino had insisted on going too (more so because he had missed Japan lately) but the smaller nation had insisted it was business. While his tone sounded apologetic his eyes were even worse, almost puppy-like and truthfully he could never resist when Japan was sorry. Prussia also understood nation duties came first and foremost. He'd be disappointed if Japan were not as hardworking and dedicated for his country. As for the puppy eyes thing, he wasn’t sure if the Japanese did it on purpose or not but _damn_ he was getting good at pulling his leg whether it was on purpose or not.

So Prussia preoccupied himself with cleaning up Japan’s place since he had left pretty early. He started reorganizing things, stacking books, folding clothes (mainly his clothes because he had left a few lying around) and cleaning the different rooms. Meanwhile of course he figured he’d have some fun while cleaning and made it his mission to have his own personal concert by singing and dancing with Japan’s broom. _Yes_ , that was definitely his favorite part of cleaning but he had no partner this time. He pouted at the thought but continued on until he finished the chores.

Once he was done he felt accomplished and sat down on a matt to scratch at Pochi. He’d probably end up reading some of Japan’s books but Pochi suddenly started getting excited for some reason and noticed him chasing a cute little yellow bird— _wait,_ that bird looked really familiar. Prussia recognized it. It was that cute thing that was always somehow on his head. The sight of a curious Pochi following it around intrigued was quite endearing. It sort of reminded him of Japan and his relationship. He felt like Pochi at the moment, following around a small pretty bird, though if Japan were there he’d say he was Pochi and Prussia was the bird. He chuckled at the thought of them debating over the hypothetical situation and walked over to the shelves looking through books.

Prussia did indeed find books to occupy himself with, he was reading up on gardening. He figured he’d help with Japan’s garden and see what he would plant next.

* * *

 

Japan wasn’t expecting a clean house when he got home. His eyes widened at the sight. While Prussia liked to clean and be neat, the thought hadn’t crossed his mind because the albino was his guest! How rude of him to even leave unexpectedly too. He’d have to make it up to the albino somehow. Maybe he’d make some manjuu. But ah, he felt too exhausted to do much at the moment so a part of him was happy to see his place so spotless. Prussia heard movement behind the door and sat up from his side lying position. It opened and Japan walked in.

“How was the meeting?" Prussia smiled. "Oh and sorry for cleaning up. I know you usually don’t like others doing things for you and you’re probably thinking you were a terrible host but you weren't. Duty called so don’t worry about it Japan. I figured I’d keep myself occupied and I knew you wouldn’t be coming back for a long while.”

Japan strained a smile in reply. “It went well thank you for asking Prussia-kun and thank you for cleaning.”

That was _odd_ , even for Japan. The Japanese’s onyx colored eyes looked tired almost drained, actually if it weren’t for Japan’s built in grace, he’d probably be dragging his feet around. Prussia’s gaze broke off the other’s when Japan started to make his way to the kitchen because he really wanted some tea, but the albino grabbed his arm before he could.

“Prussia-kun?” Japan turned to Prussia with a puzzled look on his face. He looked downcast, like a shadow had passed over it. “Are you alright? I was going to go make some tea for us both.”

“I don’t want tea,” Prussia said, as he pulled Japan down with him, latching on. “I want _you_.”

“W-What?” Japan couldn’t even correctly process what was going on. He was sprawled out on the futon in the blink of an eye. Strong arms pinned him down. Prussia lowered himself onto Japan, wrapping his arms around the smaller male’s torso.

“Pru—ssia-kun, what are you—”

The albino nuzzled into his neck, purring. Prussia couldn’t help it. He really missed Japan and the other looked like he needed to relax for a bit. Japan on the other hand was beyond confused. He knew that he took the whole day and it was late but—

“I missed you and—,” Prussia mused. He missed feeling the smaller nation's skin against him, the body heat, and missed his all too familiar comforting scent but he wouldn't tell him that. He was probably already overstepping his boundaries but Japan hadn't pushed him off or raised his voice. “And you’re mine...”

Japan’s breath hitched in his throat and his cheeks flushed instantly at the sudden possessiveness.

“W-What's the matter, Prussia-kun? You’re being a lot bolder than usual and—”

“Did you not miss me too?” The albino’s eyes had a hint of worry and possible hurt in them.

Japan was mesmerized by those crimson red eyes. His face instantly softened while his cheeks continued to flush. “Of course I missed you Prussia-kun.” He muttered as he moved to Prussia at a better angle.

Japan leaned into Prussia in an almost—was he trying to cuddle? This surprised the albino a bit. From their position the smaller nation asked his question once more. “Is something the matter?”

The albino paused. "I just want to _see_ you more." He buried his head into Japan's chest and the other’s eyes widened at the sudden action. “I just miss—I miss...”

Japan let out a soft chuckle. “I’m not going anywhere Prussia-kun.” Japan decided he’d go through with it this time and hugged Prussia as tenderly as possible, as if he were holding something fragile and pure in his arms. Prussia melted into the embrace, content with being close to someone he cared about and cared about him too. While Japan was as beautiful as a flower, he also knew the Japanese could be a fearsome warrior. He admired all of Japan's sides and these intimate moments—he knew they both weren't very good at this but he loved these moments anyway. Prussia shifted to Japan's side instead, and the smaller male turned, facing him. Both their pulses quickened when they looked at one another.

“A-And… Prussia-kun is _mine_ too… so,” Japan said it as softy as possible and the albino couldn’t help but lightly blush at the assertively cute statement.

It was beyond adorable when the Japanese went out of his way to show his feelings. Prussia leaned over and pecked Japan’s forehead. “Ja, I am. Glad to hear you agree haha!”

Japan looked away, his blush getting stronger as they still cuddled. He turned back to face the albino when he cooled off.

“You are staying the night, correct?” Japan asked into Prussia’s neck as the smaller male’s breath tickled him. Prussia tightened his hold and Japan found it hard to breathe.

“Ja I can." He whispered. "I don’t have anything planned tomorrow actually."

Japan winced. “C-Could you loosen your hold on me, please?”

“No...” But the albino loosened his grip anyway, and wrapped his legs around the Japanese instead.

Japan found it amusing, the other's playful side that is. He took Prussia's hand, intertwining their fingers. During their moments alone, he felt the most comfortable with the albino and didn’t mind such close proximity as much. Though the truth of it was that it took a long while for Japan to get used to even cuddling let alone on the same futon. As for public display of affection—yeah that wasn’t happening.

“You are a hassle Prussia-kun." The smaller male said as his lips curved into a smile.

“I am not. How am I one anyway huh?"

"You make me do things I normally do not do."

The albino laughed triumphantly. "I help you out with so much! You're learning from me. You owe the awesome me cakes by the way kesesese!”

“Hai…” Japan sighed as they both got quiet for a bit. 

He let his eyes close as he drifted off and figured his partner had done the same. Some more good minutes passed when suddenly an all familiar sensation pestered Japan.

“Prussia-kun.” The Japanese whispered still in his lover’s arms.

“Hmm?”

“I have to go to the bathroom…”

“Five more minutes Japan..."

Japan sighed again because that’s what he usually said when he was too stubborn to get up. At that moment Japan truly wondered if he should bribe Prussia with pastries or maybe even some sausages he happened to get a hold of from Germany....


	3. Day 3 - Watching a Movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAYYY. I rushed this one and I had to say I sort of laughed because two things inspired me this chapter. One was a tumblr art I saw of Prupan talking about marriage and the other was just this really funny German post. I'll be sure to put down the poor translation I came up with at the end.

Japan ran his hand through Prussia's short uneven strands of silver white hair. Those strands tickled the skin of his hand, almost like they were tracing the lines of his palm. Prussia's scalp was warm and Japan lightly scratched his nails at the roots of his hair.

Prussia sighed contently and his head leaned against Japan's arm, a weight that Japan silently reveled in. It should've been awkward, considering they were sitting side by side on the couch watching god knows what cheesy horror movie that America had picked out, but it wasn't as awkward as Japan thought it'd be. Italy had also fallen fast asleep shamelessly on Germany’s lap. While the German would have naturally fought him off, Japan knew that this had already become a routine for the two. It was quite humorous as to how Germany hardly ever lost his battles yet when it came to the cheerful Italian, he always somehow lost. Italy was scared at the beginning when they had started watching but the movie itself eventually got ridiculous enough for him to sleep it off.

Under normal circumstances Japan would have been too embarrassed to even let Prussia fall asleep on him but the cat was already out of the bag that him and Prussia were something more than just very good friends. As much as he’d deny it or just stay quiet towards the comments, his allies were not convinced (or at least a majority of them). It also didn’t help that Prussia took the spot next to Japan on the couch because he knew exactly how things always turned out when the American would watch horror films with Japan. And while Prussia wasn’t a controlling person he wasn’t very fond of the strong embracing the blond with glasses would have with Japan out of ridiculous fear of some lame films even if there were no underhanded intentions. He would never understand why America even watched horror movies to begin with if he couldn’t stomach them. So maybe he was _a bit_ territorial, but he wouldn’t tell the Japanese that.

The albino’s head was a bit too heavy and Japan knew that Prussia was slipping off into sleep. Then the sudden noise of the girl on the screen screaming slightly woke him up or was that America’s screams? Japan stopped moving his hand as he turned his attention to the American shaking around holding his pillow. There was a sigh across the couch, which was Germany just pitying the blond with glasses.

“America-san, if this is too scary for you—”

“No way Japan! I’m totally fine. Don’t worry about me dude!”

Japan frowned. “I can make you some tea I brought along to calm your nerves if you so wish.”

Prussia made a small grumbling noise in the back of his throat, but otherwise stayed silent. The dark haired male blinked a few times questioning the response.

“No thanks! I’m fine! I promise!” America said waving it off with a smile as Japan turned his attention once again away from the albino.

“Japan, just leave him be. Even if he is holding onto that pillow for dear life he’s proving to not be such a _sausage_.” Germany said bluntly.

Japan chuckled and heard a small chuckle coming from the albino on his side too. He tapped Prussia's forehead in response. Japan couldn't really see his face, but he could tell that Prussia's eyes barely flapped open. "Mmm I’m awake… and West is right Japan, leave the scaredy cat be," he mumbled, words heavy with sleep.

“Hey! I’m not a scaredy CAT!” The American defended.

Japan didn't say anything, but he started moving his hand again. He curled his fingers in Prussia's hair and rubbed his head, making him almost purr. America didn’t bother paying any more attention to the two as he kept focused on the screen while Germany would glance over once in a while to see his brother so serene leaning on Japan’s side. The sight itself was nice. He hadn’t ever really seen his older brother so at peace. He felt like he would have to thank Japan one of these days.

Prussia was nodding off once more but jerked a bit this time. "I'm awake _okay_."

Japan softly smiled. "Hai hai, Prussia-kun." Disbelief colored his voice but Prussia couldn’t really protest all that much.

The Japanese’s voice was so soothing even if it had a hint of teasing behind it.

The albino groaned, but it wasn't even a full on groan – he seemed to be too relaxed for one of those. "It just feels so good..."

Japan lightly chuckled. "I’m not all that comfortable Prussia-kun. Perhaps if you go rest in one of America-san’s rooms?"

Prussia furrowed his eyebrows at Japan’s response through half lidded eyes. "You _are_ comfortable. I wouldn’t want to lie on that guy’s bed anyway unless you came with me…" he muttered.

Japan instantly blushed at that response. "I-I…" But his response was cut off by an energetic voice.

“Ve~ America! Can Prussia and Japan sleep in one of your rooms~?”

Japan gaped, not just because of the indecent request but also because he hadn’t noticed when Italy had woken up. Germany simply looked away not making eye contact with a slight look of embarrassment. Was he against him too?! Prussia grinned over at Italy.

“Hm? Yeah sure, don’t care. You guys can rest in the guest room. But it’s getting to the good part, you sure you don’t want to—”

“Nope! Thanks America. The awesome me will be taking his leave now.”

Everything happened too quickly for Japan to even process as Prussia got up from the couch as if the sleepiness had evaporated from him and picked up Japan as he literally swept him off his feet carrying him.

Germany grumbled as his put his hand over his head. “Bruder…try not to make a scene…”

“It’s like they’re getting married Germany!”

“Germany-san I believe it’s too late for that! And Prussia-kun! Put me down this instance! I can walk perfectly fine on my own and I am not sleepy!”

The Japanese squirmed around huffing and puffing at the grinning albino.

“Ja Ja, until you learn to speak up more _loudly_ I’ll just say I can’t hear you.” Prussia said as he walked away with an angry Japan.

“Man, am I the only one enjoying this movie?” America said to the other two on the couch suddenly munching on a chocolate bar.

“Ve~ I’m going to make pasta~ Hope you don’t mind~” Italy said as he got up.

“Uh…sure.” The blond with glasses replied wondering what the heck was even going on anymore.

“I believe so America. The fact I’m going to go make pasta with _that guy_ says a lot.”

America pouted at the response. He wondered why Prussia hogged Japan all the time now too. He guessed it was normal for Germany and Italy to always be together, but Japan and Prussia? Then again he didn't really know much about either them to begin with. Japan hardly ever spoke about himself...

“Yo you guys?” He turned facing the two while Italy was searching around the cabinets.

“What is it?” Germany raised an eyebrow before he followed Italy into the kitchen.

“What’s up with your brother and Japan?” America asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know man! That’s why I’m asking.”

“I still don’t understand—”

“Germany you’re so slow~ They are together America!”

The blond with glasses’s eyes widened. “Together—together? Like when people kiss and hold hands and stuff?”

Germany facepalmed. He felt like he was hearing a conversation between elementary children.

“That exactly!”

“Oh that makes a lot of sense now! No wonder he always made a face when I’d grab onto Japan during scary movies haha!”

“Ve~? Really? He never got mad at me for that…”

Germany grumbled again.

“What is it Germany?”

“My brother likes cute things…” He muttered with a blush almost ashamed at saying the sentence.

“YO! That’s unfair! I can be CUTE TOO!” America said offended while Germany scoffed.

* * *

 

“Prussia-kun!” Japan squirmed out of Prussia’s hold.

“Yes Japan?” The albino pouted.

“Don’t ever do that again please!”

“You’re still mad?”

“Yes.” Japan replied softly staring him down.

“I’m sorry but can I know why? Is it wrong to want you and show that our friends?”

“Prussia-kun, are you jealous of _America-san_?” The Japanese asked bluntly.

“What! _Nein._ ” He scoffed.

“Then what is it?” Japan raised an eyebrow at the albino sitting next to him at the edge of the bed.

“He just gets too touchy with you is all.”

Japan chuckled unintentionally but it just happened by reflex.

“What! Why are you laughing?!”

“Gomen Prussia-kun… but you never have a problem when Italy-kun holds me or nuzzles me.”

Suddenly Prussia’s face softened as his eyes gleamed. Japan furrowed his eyebrows after seeing the clear bliss on the albino's face.

“It’s because Italy-chan and you are adorable!”

And before Prussia knew it he got a smack on the head.

“I’m not taking it back.” The albino whispered with a frown.

Japan was blushing. “Please don’t call me cute. I happen to be an old man need I remind you?”

“Ja and I need a cane myself." He said sarcastically, "but the fact Italy-chan likes to hug you should say something Japan.” And Prussia pulled the smaller male over into his arms as he smiled down at the blushing Japanese.

“Pru—ssia-kun?!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll be more considerate okay?” He replied softly.

“And you won’t discriminate against America-san either.”

“What?! I’m not discriminating.”

Japan’s face went completely neutral but Prussia knew the other wasn’t convinced. Prussia sighed. “I don’t find his actions _cute_.”

“He means well and it wasn’t very considerate of us to leave him watching the movie on his own. Maybe we should go keep him company—”

“Das ist mir Wurst” Prussia muttered while shrugging.

“Prussia-kun! Don’t be rude!”

The albino’s eyes widened as he let out a good laugh. “You learn quickly! I don’t think I told you what that meant. How did you—”

“Germany-san told me you would say it eventually!”

“West betrayed ME!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha... poor America... Sorry I have a thing for slightly territorial Prussia ^^! And man I can't help but write these dorks a bit shamelessly. As for the phrase at the end "Das ist mir Wurst" - roughly translates to "This is sausage to me" or "It's sausage to me" it's like another way to say you don't care apparently which I find sooo hilarious and I wish I really knew German it seems like such a fun language. When I saw that translation I couldn't stop myself from using it for Prussia HAHA.
> 
> Okay so I'll be starting chapter 4 right now as well since I'm a day behind! PEACE~


	4. Day 4 - On a date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD I went FULL ON FLUFF AND CHEESY MODE. WHAT THE HELL MAN! Ahhh I'm going to go hide now. These freakin' prompts are so CHEESY.

A date. A _date_ —that was what a couple did _right_? Though they hadn’t really used terms like _“boyfriend”_ with one another—he had asked Hungary. Yes, because the green eyed brunette had clung onto him asking him for details of their love life once she sensed he had been going around to Japan’s way too often and that the Japanese would stay over at Prussia’s. Word really got around and it was easy to get information out of Germany, though when the female was finally face to face with Prussia, she was quite disappointed with the information.

“You two just spend time with one another and don’t do anything all that differently? That’s lovely and all but don’t be an idiot.”

Prussia grumbled. “Hey! We sort of hold hands and kiss—wait I am NOT an IDIO—”

“Yes you are and clearly inexperienced.” She stated bluntly as she crossed her arms against her chest.

The albino huffed. “Then tell the awesome me—”

“You are anything _but_ awesome right now.”

“It’s not like I’ve ever gone out with someone! We’re nations woman!”

Hungary laughed. “Of course! But we are still human at that you fool! Take him on a date at least.”

Prussia scratched his head contemplating where the heck he could take Japan to. It wasn’t like he hadn’t even taken Japan out. He had given him a tour of East Germany when they had begun their alliance years ago but Hungary had scolded him and clearly stated that that was as _friends_ not _lovers_. Geez, did Japan even care about this stuff?

“I guess I could take him stargazing.”

Hungary’s eyes widened a bit surprised at the response. “Oh? I am impressed. I was expecting a terrible response but that’s quite romantic~”

Prussia scoffed. “I may be terrible at dating or whatever Japan and I are doing but I can be thoughtful too.”

For a moment Hungary thought Prussia was quite cute like this— _as if the albino could be cute in her eyes_ —Japan made him pretty cute since he was letting out a side of him he usually didn’t. She rubbed her hands together scheming.

“Well then, we must prepare!~” She got up off the couch with a determined expression.

“Wait, what?” Prussia raised an eyebrow.

“You heard me! You’re not going to just take him stargazing and that’s that right? Come on, you have to add a little spice.” She winked.

He would never understand this side of her, but he supposed Austria dealt with her more often than him.

* * *

 

The albino was a bit nervous never having done this before, but he hoped getting “lessons” from Hungary on how to be a bit more _“cool”_ and _“suave”_ whatever the heck that meant, was worth it, even though he protested he was already awesome so that wasn’t necessary. Yeah, he shouldn’t have argued. He got a good smack with the pan. He took a deep breath as his lips curved into a small smile. It wasn’t like Japan could see him being a nervous wreck anyway. The smaller nation currently had Prussia’s scarf tied tight around his eyes.

“Um, are you alright Prussia-kun?”

Prussia gulped. _Crap_ , was he being too obvious?

“Ja. I’m fine Japan haha! Just a little bit further.” Prussia tried to speak in a calmer manner to distract the smaller male.

Japan decided to leave it at that and pushed no further. He wondered why Prussia was acting so odd. The albino was already an oddball, but that was his charm or at least Japan saw it that way. He just wondered why the other had seemed a bit jumpy. He supposed he’d figure it out eventually. They’d traveled quite a ways and he’d spent most of the time blind folded, the set sun not helping to better his limited vision at all but he stayed calm. He heard Prussia pay the cabbie, who undeniably sounded amused, followed by shutting of the cab door as the albino retrieved whatever devious things he’d brought with him.

Those said devious things the other had brought were simply things Italy and Hungary had orchestrated for him to bring with him. He had declined but Italy this time around had insisted to bring said items. Hungary was a _devious_ one indeed. Depending on how the night would end he’d have to either thank or curse her.

 Japan assumed that all the effort Prussia was putting into the little surprise must have been very important so he simply calmed his curiosity and slight worry. They continued walking for a ways, Prussia’s arm never leaving Japan’s and Japan’s fingers never losing the grip they had on the albino’s forearm. “I don’t mean to sound impatient, but are we almost—”

But before Japan could even finish his question he stumbled on some uneven ground and Prussia panicked for a few seconds as Japan immediately grabbed on much tighter to Prussia’s arm with both hands holding himself up. His head turned in Prussia’s direction. The albino was impressed and lightly blushed at how securely close Japan made himself holding onto him.

“B-Be careful, we can walk a little slower so you don’t trip.”

“No! It’s alright Prussia-kun I would really like to take off this blindfold as soon as possible. I promise I will just stay closer to you if you don’t mind.”

“Why would I? I like it when we’re close...” The albino muttered.

The Japanese’s cheeks flushed at the response but simply nodded.

Prussia grinned widely afterward and kept the two of them moving, a picnic basket hanging off his other arm. Inside were blankets, a bottle of champagne, and an assortment of foods. One of which being pasta that Italy had prepared, wrapped in a heat sealing container and had lovingly packed for the two of them. While the champagne had a silly story itself.

* * *

 

_"Well why not some good beer from my country. It’s the best stuff around for—OW! You BEAST!"_

_"EXCUSE ME?! You will regret calling me that. But I’ll spare you for now, only for Japan. And beer?! Really?! You started out good with the stargazing but blew it on the drinks. My goodness you are a lost cause. Here.” She handed him a bottle. “Mister Austria recommended champagne for the occasion."_

_Prussia raised an eyebrow. "Why couldn't the guy just give it to me himself?"_

_"He said he wouldn't want to be in the same room as you."_

_"Why that—"_

_"Now now! Ignore him for the moment. I have to teach you the perfect set up!"_

_Prussia grumbled._

* * *

 

“Alright,” the grinning albino told Japan when they finally had a nice elevated bit of ground. He stopped Japan from reaching up to pull off his blindfold with a quick hand.

“Sorry Japan, just give me a second.” Prussia said apologetically. He took a step back, and once sure Japan intended to reply, set about the business of laying down the bigger of the two blankets.

Confused by the sound, Japan frowned slightly, the loss of one of his major senses highly unnerving.

“Prussia-kun?” Japan called out hesitantly, allowing his unease to fill his voice.

“Hold on. I’m almost done, Japan.” The words were spoken softly with the utmost patience.

Japan was a bit shocked at this. He felt like the roles had been reversed this time, but it really was nerve wrecking not being able to see at all and Japan wasn’t one for surprises really—yet he pictured a determined Prussia and his lips quirked upwards at the thought. A quiet chuckle left him as he waited some more. Whatever this was, the albino was really going out of his way. Quickly setting out the dish wear as silently as possibly, Prussia arranged the food and drinks in an appealing manner, and after a swift glance to make sure everything was in the right place, he finally decided it was time to remove the blindfold so he did.

Japan’s first sight upon opening his eyes was Prussia, as he had turned sharply to keep him in his line of sight. The second, after ensuring Prussia’s safety (which he was relived about), was what appeared to be a candle lit dinner or better yet in their case the _“candle lights”_ being glowing fireflies in a jar, and it was practically a picnic under the stars while the moonlight bathed over them. Japan gaped because how romantic, but soon covered his mouth with his hand and Prussia’s delighted laughter accompanied the action, glowing pale hands smoothing over his shoulders from behind as Prussia placed a kiss against the side of Japan’s throat. The Japanese squeaked in response and jumped in place at the light contact. The stars were so bright. He felt so small compared to such an open endless sky, a gigantic galaxy right in front of his eyes. It was beautiful and Japan was stricken by it.

 Prussia watched the smaller male’s response with a mixture of pleasure and pride, the wonder on his face making every bit of the effort he’d put into this worth it (especially dealing with Hungary’s _“mini lessons”_ ). Japan’s stomach rumbled as he caught sight of the dinner Prussia had set out. Pasta, salad, and fresh bread rolls all lay out on separate plates, with a bottle of champagne sitting in a bucket of ice. How the albino had managed that, the Japanese didn’t want to know—though a certain nation by the name of _Hungary_ crossed his mind. Over all, it was incredibly impressive and Japan was beyond touched.

Prussia heard the other’s stomach grumble and just wanted to ruffle his hair oh so badly but refrained from the gesture.

“Prussia-kun…” Japan’s voice was barely audible and he cleared his throat as he tried again. “I… _Oh_.”

The albino was smiling now, the small sliver of doubt that had wormed its way into his mind banished as he circled around Japan quickly, a finger going to his lips. “Shush. Let’s just sit, Japan.” He scolded quietly as he took both of Japan’s hands into his own, leading him to the blanket.

Japan was beyond stunned at this, that all he could do was just _comply_ with the request. Japan’s knees bent and he sank gracefully to the ground. Prussia followed with considerably less grace and a loud huff. The smaller male softly chuckled.

Prussia grinned in response, the expression joyful, and nuzzled his nose against Japan’s. The Japanese’s laughter was like music to the albino’s ears. Music aside, it was one of his favorite sounds. It was contagious because when Japan smiled or laughed, which were already rare sights to everybody else, he couldn’t help but get caught up in the mood too.

They ate then, sipping at the champagne that Prussia had poured despite Japan trying to serve himself things, the albino had insisted he do it just for that night. He knew how stubborn Japan could be when it came to politeness. They enjoyed one another’s company while the stars and the moon shone over them. After dinner, the fireflies were set free and they lay together under the second blanket while sipping their drinks, sharing slow and tender kisses when they could appreciating the night sky.

“So Hungary-san helped in all of this?” The smaller male asked curiously.

Prussia almost choked on his drink. “Ah, caught me…”

Japan smiled. “It’s alright Prussia-kun.”

“Am I that bad?”

“No! Not at all. This was—this was much more than I could ever ask for in all my years of living. This was magical…thank you very much Prussia-kun…But please don’t go to all this trouble.”

The albino smiled triumphantly and waved off the other’s comment. “It was nothing the awesome me couldn’t handle. Just remember that Japan.”

Japan’s smile never faded. “Italy-kun helped with the pasta?”

“Ja. He was really happy about this. The fireflies were my idea. Hungary wanted some candles but nein. Fireflies look much better and they aren’t troublesome to set up.”

Japan nodded and was quite impressed the albino even had fireflies supplied for him. A laugh escaped the other’s lips again.

“What is it Prussia-kun?”

“Italy-chan didn’t want me to bring champagne. He kept saying something about you being underage.”

The Japanese’s expression turned from happy to horrified instantly. “Ah… I’ve told him and Germany-san countless times that I am older than them both.”

“Kesesese! I can’t believe West still thinks you’re younger than him. But still, you do look adorably young.”

Japan’s cheeks flushed. “Prussia-kun I am _old_.”

He took another sip from his champagne. “Ja ja. I know. You do not need to remind me and if you’re old than that must make me an old man too.” He gestured pointing at his silver white strands of hair.

The Japanese muffled a laugh.

A bit of silence fell upon them both again as Japan continued to gaze at the starry night sky getting lost in it, while taking glances at Prussia’s features.

“Do you know why I brought you here?” The albino asked breaking the silence.

Japan slightly tilted his head. “No I do not.”

“It’s our first _actual_ date. Ha, or at least according to Hungary.” He scratched his head in embarrassment.

Japan hummed in amusement and Prussia raised an eyebrow.

“Gomen… this is a wonderful date. I just couldn’t help but remember one of the first words you forced me to learn and shout out. The stars always remind me of Prussia-kun because he is always glowing with such beautiful radiance.”

Prussia’s face immediately reddened. He was supposed to be the suave one tonight! And ironically he also brought Japan to stargaze because he wanted to share his love for the vast starry night sky.

“S-Shute-runen-himmel.”

The word broke him out of his thoughts and Prussia’s eyes widened.

A reddened Japan suddenly spoke once more. “I’m still not as good yet but I always remember that one and kiruchburuute.”

“ _Sternenhimmel and kirschblüte._ That was good. Still a bit soft but you’re not hesitating anymore. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to yell it right now either. Kesesese!”

“I am thankful for your teachings Prussia-kun… More than you know.” The Japanese muttered.

As they continued to stare at one another, and as the stars illuminated the night, Japan just wanted to keep staring at the person next to him who couldn’t help himself and cupped the Japanese’s face as he slowly connected their lips. Their faces flushed and their heart beats synchronizing. Prussia then whispered into the kiss, “I’m sure you know this one by now too, but _ich liebe dich_.”

Japan could only blush more as he smiled into the other’s lips.

What Prussia hadn’t known was that that phrase was definitely the next thing Japan immediately learned to read, write, and pronounce when he realized he fell in love with his teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I have an obsession with stars too. Stargazing is one of my favorite things to do, the only problem is I can't see the stars all that well in the city. I have gone to the other side of the country to see the stars at night and I feel like I could easily be swallowed by the night sky. It's amazing. Anyway, yeah I used the words Japan first learned from Prussia in German because I'm a sap like that and REALLY Prussia, how much more low key romantic can you get teaching your little student "Starry sky" and "Cherry blossoms" ??? Really? Yeah my OTP radar is going off. This one was LONGER than expected. I apologize (not really)!


	5. Day 5 - Kissing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy mother of these prompts really are CHEESY. Oh my GOSH I am so sorry for the river of fluff.... ah well, I'll be drowning in lake Prupan. Good day.

While they both couldn’t exactly claim to be _inexperienced_ in the area of kissing anymore, in reality they both weren’t all that great at it to begin with. Though now they’d argue that with each other it always just felt _right_ regardless of inexperience. Even after their first kiss it was still strange but something to look forward to again and again. There was always a certain thrill behind it, something different yet familiar. Maybe it was because they didn’t kiss too often or maybe it was just because Japan would always feel his heart beat quicken at such close proximity, at such intimacy or it could have simply been because when they kissed they made it special each and every single time.

Japan’s lips were just as addicting to Prussia as Prussia’s were to Japan and that was something difficult to comprehend at first for them. They just thought they might have started going crazy. If they were to be completely honest though, their first kiss happened on accident when Hungary and Taiwan had smacked both their backs playfully (and knowing the green eyed brunette she had more strength behind her arm than she let on) where both men collided on each others’ faces and conveniently mashed lips. Frozen in shock it took a bit longer than expected for them to break apart. It was quite embarrassing although the women easily disagreed with high hopes of sparking something. Both males decided (though Japan more so than Prussia) to not further bring up the discussion, but that incident was the spark of it all. It opened up doors that Prussia hadn’t ever been truly aware of and thought he had no intention on opening. It made Japan wonder about things he hadn’t ever really given thought to with a person whom he had frequent interactions with, let alone with his good teacher and friend.

Prussia remembered when he had asked France on kissing and how things usually happened during those intimate moments. He would have asked Spain, but the guy always went on a tangent about other topics. Besides, France was the country of love and romance! Were kisses really dreamy like in the movies? He was curious on how the perfect kiss would be but the Frenchmen simply chuckled in his ever so elegant manner of doing so and said, _“Mon Ch_ _e_ _r, even if I tell you how to kiss properly it all comes with the experience just like love itself. You’ll have to discover what works best for you and sweet little Japan non? Everyone has something that works for them.”_

He hadn't even told France about Japan and yet it seemed like everybody knew somehow.

When Taiwan had approached Japan about said topic, she wanted to know how it felt to kiss someone who had mutual interest in you. Of course her intentions behind the question were anything but innocent. Japan’s face flushed as he said he was the least experienced in that area. She had responded by saying, _“Aw but Mister Japan, you would be such a gentleman with your significant other! You can’t say you have zero experience in kissing though! You’ve definitely had your first kiss~. It was with Mister Prussia after all!”_ And if Japan’s redness hadn’t been apparent at first, it certainly came on stronger than ever when he politely asked to change the topic with a giggling Taiwan.

So after much contemplating, Prussia had decided he’d try it again but without it being a so called accident. He knew Hungary and Taiwan had surely schemed something behind that _incident._ But he couldn’t deny he was a bit curious as to what he felt when that happened. Sure it was brief and their lips mashed together for a few seconds as they were frozen stiff but holding onto the other closely and feeling his face heat up, the softness behind the other’s—okay yeah so he might have definitely been crushing on Japan before that whole thing. He always did like Japan, whether it was as an excellent hard working student or as a friend whom he could have conversations ranging from intellectual to the simple pleasures in life. As for something further than that, he never had a reason to overstep that boundary until now. His thoughts would not leave him be so he had to do something, anything. He just wondered what Japan thought of it all.

The situation made the Japanese uncomfortable beyond belief. Not because he didn’t like Prussia or anything, but he felt it was completely disrespectful to harbor such feelings for someone who was a close friend and sensei. It was improper to have such thoughts of them possibly having something beyond friendship. Japan did not like it one bit and held his tongue, but he couldn’t stop wondering how Prussia felt afterwards. He was too nervous and ashamed to look at the albino’s body language and face that day. All Japan did was apologize countless times, though Prussia had been trying to bring it up that same day. The Japanese had made him agree to conveniently forgetting about such a petty matter.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later after everything calmed down between them, or so they told one another, that Japan had been called out by Prussia to come to his place. He figured it was a simple gesture between friends or maybe he wanted him to study some more German?

* * *

 

A good while had passed as Prussia sat next to the Japanese male who had been buried in books. They were in his library, and the albino hadn’t stopped himself from watching the other. Eventually the Japanese’s focus was broken when he felt a pair of crimson red eyes on him every now and then. He wasn’t going to be getting much done after all was he? They eventually stared at each other without sneaking glances due to Prussia telling the other to take a break.

It became a strange atmosphere. Occasionally Japan would let his gaze move away from the other’s eyes to instead glance over to Prussia’s lips which actually had a small smirk on them, but neither of them made the first move. Prussia was highly amused at how flustered Japan looked. Sure he was a bit nervous too actually because his intentions for asking the other to come over weren’t exactly for studying reasons. So he might have used his power of authority to his advantage but he needed to know! There was a brief silence and both of them could feel the atmosphere slowly changing to something a little tense. This was the perfect chance right? It wasn’t until they finally broke the silence and spoke.

"May I-"

"Can I-"

And they said it at the same time, as if their mouths were synchronized, and both of them froze only to stare at one another.

There was a small pause and then a bit of nervous laughter coming from them both.

“Gomen, Prussia-kun.”

“Ah, it’s alright I’m sorry too.”

“What were you going to ask?” The Japanese questioned.

Prussia’s cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “Uhm, well—I just…I know we never bring up that accidental uh, _kiss_ incident anymore but I’ve been wanting to ask you something for a while now.”

Japan’s face then turned a dark shade of pink attempting to maintain his eye contact with the albino sitting beside him.

“It’s alright… I was being a mere child at the time. What exactly did you want to ask about it?”

“Was it weird for you? I mean kissing another man. I mean kissing me!”

Japan’s expression stayed neutral, yet quickly turned quizzical after the albino's question.

“Well, I’ve never kissed anyone let alone another male on the lips. And Prussia-kun that was an accident. It was quick and something that shouldn’t have—”

“Okay but it happened and it lasted a bit longer than you'd think.” Prussia said bluntly interrupting the other.

Japan sighed.

“Yes… it did…”

“How did it…feel?”

“Embarrassing, awkward, uncomfortable, strange, and _different_. I do not see why—”

“Alright alright, I get the point. What were you going to ask about?”

Japan tilted his a head bit puzzled.

“Coincidentally I was going to ask about it too.”

Prussia raised an eyebrow, his curiosity suddenly kicking in.

“I was going to ask if it meant anything to you as well. And if there is any form of awkwardness or discomfort between us then you can let me know. I am but a mere student and…” Japan looked down at his book sudden disappointment washing over him.

“Japan.” He called his name sternly. “Look at me.”

The Japanese’s embarrassment was very obvious but he looked up at the other’s honest piercing eyes.

“You’re the only one who doesn’t seem comfortable about it. I mean ja, I was confused at first and I didn’t really know if I should have cared like I did about something that looked so silly on the outside but… we are friends aren't we? You didn’t even want to talk about it so I gave you time…” The albino paused. “I mean, I actually want to test something…only with your permission of course.” His eyes suddenly focused on the smaller dark haired nation in front of him. “I think I _like_ you and I’d just want to see what a real kiss would feel like with someone I actually want to kiss.”

Japan took his time trying to process the bold request that came out of Prussia’s mouth. While he was oddly delighted at the request he couldn’t believe that the other had actually asked.

“W-What?! Wait… wait. Please wait.” The Japanese pleaded as he shut his eyes.

Prussia’s eyes in contrast slightly widened. Was it too much? _Damn._

Japan then opened his eyes again to ask, “How do you even know that what you feel isn’t simple affection?”

Prussia blinked a bit confused at the question. “Because I find you really adorable,” he blurted out.

“But you find Italy-kun adorable too.”

Prussia bit his lip. “Nein nein… They are not the same. I think of doing strange things with you too…”

Japan gasped. “Prussia-kun, please do not speak inappropriately...”

The albino grumbled. “Mein gott Japan! That is not what I meant! Although--well I do...but that's not the point! Is it so hard to believe that I want to kiss you because I like you? It’s already embarrassing and difficult explaining myself! I am just asking you for permission. Besides my s _tudent,_ you can learn something from this too.” He teased.

Why was he provoking Japan? Ah, he had nothing to lose though. Okay maybe he did, but he was tired of the smaller nation belittling himself which he clearly noticed.

The Japanese found himself beyond flustered but by reflex nodding and giving the okay. Of course he wanted this, but he wasn’t sure if it was wise. For once he did not listen to his fears. He wasn’t sure if Prussia would even like it afterward or what if he himself didn’t like it either? This was a dangerous game but he already complied.

And then before he knew it Prussia’s lips crashed against his. Sure it was still awkward and strange, and definitely new to them, but Japan eventually found his lips moving against the other’s. The Japanese wasn’t sure why but his heart felt like it wanted to jump out of his chest. It was probably the sweet sensation he got out of it. Prussia was delighted to have his request fulfilled as he messily explored the other's lips and mouth. Everything was so soft, so warm, so wet but he didn’t mind at all. It was just like how Prussia imagined it to be with the other. Japan was much smaller than him, but that was one of the things that made him so perfect. Their kiss was eager, clumsy, and they discovered that their hearts beat at the same rhythm. Their lips fit together perfectly and Japan found that Prussia’s shoulders gave just the right sort of warmth beneath his hands, and the albino discovered that his hands fit comfortably on the other man’s hips.

It was good.  It was _more than_ good. It was _right_.

Despite the rush of embarrassment as their lips collided with one another, as they gasped for air, and as the sharing of saliva was a bit too much, it was that feeling of mutual like and mutual bliss of being connected that made them feel complete. And that was how every kiss was for them from then on. Brushing the awkwardness aside it was something intimate and important. There were different types of kisses between them. Those kisses that were slow, tender, and simply sweet. Then there were those small quick pecks they had when others were around as Prussia tried being discreet. Then they had those intensely heated and long drawn out kisses that eventually turned desperate and hungry, possibly even rougher depending on the mood. And those were simply kisses on the lips. Kisses really did vary, they were probably one of the most intimate forms of affection for them.

It was definitely something else, something that indeed did start with inexperience. So whether or not they considered themselves experienced didn’t matter anymore to either of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was actually kind of hard for me to write because I have written so many kissing scenarios between these two and I sometimes get confused with what story I'm writing because I actually have other prupan stories that aren't for this 30 day challenge in where the scenarios are KIND OF similar but with different plots of course. *sweats* 
> 
> So wish me luck on the prompt for day 6 because it will definitely be a bit more challenging for me D: haha.


	6. Day 6 - Wearing each others' clothes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to I had to I had to. I actually would LOVE the image of these two with each other's clothes on in the Hetalia world LMAO! Anyway... I tried. Ha ha. I wasn't able to upload my fic last night but it's here now. It'll be a busy week for me but I'll definitely be keeping up to date with these. They have been fun and really cheesy lol. I'm debating on maybe changing some of these original prompts to my own made up versions... because a few them seem TOO similar to each other and that kind of bugs me. Anyway, onto the story.

Italy had invited Japan to go over to Germany's that day. Japan hadn't bothered to ask what Germany thought of it anymore. He was too used to the same drill of Italy speaking for the blond and eventually Germany just told Japan that when Italy invited him over it’d be alright unless he stated otherwise. Coincidentally when he had arrived Prussia was already over there hovering over his younger brother and pulling on his cheeks as he read something. Germany eventually swatted the albino's hands away in annoyance. It was always a sweet sight seeing them spending time with one another though he knew the larger male would disagree. Germany already had Italy to deal with but when those two were with him it was literally double the trouble.  
  
Drinks and snacks were offered that Hungary, who also happened to be invited by Italy, insisted on serving. Germany often questioned why his home always had people just coming and going as they pleased? He was lucky that a certain Austrian was not in his home that day. He did not have to look after another child.  
  
While Hungary gathered cookies and drinks (each of the beverages being different) a sudden idea crossed her mind! Yes, it was time for her to have a little fun indeed. Back in the living room Prussia decided to steer his attention to a certain raven haired Japanese male as he started stroking his soft hair to his heart’s content. Japan grumbled and huffed and puffed swatting his hand away asking for him to stop teasing but the albino couldn’t help himself. They were so caught up with one another that they hadn’t noticed Hungary walking over when she ended up _accidentally_ spilling drinks on Prussia and Japan.

 

The Japanese immediately jumped off the couch due to the heat of the tea as he took off his white jacket but forced himself to keep his pants on despite the burning sensation against his skin (which the tea somehow did not go through to his underwear). Prussia simply looked at his stained uniform shirt disappointedly and his undershirt. That was some thick liquid!

 

“Oi oi, Hungary watch where you’re walking. Cleaning this will be a real pain.” He sighed.

 

Japan simply frowned and said nothing.

 

The Hungarian female gasped. “I am so sorry! Sooo sorry!”

 

“Ah, it’s alright.” Prussia waved it off. “Just be more careful. I’ll just clean this up right now with a cloth.”

 

Hungary quickly pulled at the albino’s arm stopping him from walking away with a smile on her face. He turned around raising an eyebrow wondering why the woman stopped him.

 

Then Japan said, “I think I’ll be taking my leave. I would really like to change into other clothing and—”

 

“I’m so sorry Japan! I’ll make it up to you both! You can both shower here!”

 

As Hungary said that Prussia stopped trying to get out of the female’s death grip. She really did have a ridiculous grip along with arm strength. Japan and Prussia looked over at one another after her proposition and raised their eyebrows in unison. Germany simply ignored the scenario as he continued looking through some papers while Italy had actually come back to the living room with a few items in hand.

 

“It’s really okay Hungary-san, there’s no need.” Japan pleaded.

 

“Oh but I insist! You can’t go back home so dirty and stained! A cloth can only do so much." She said staring a bit lower than expected. "Besides, Germany’s clothes would fit you too big and Italy’s spare clothes are actually washing right now. Same with you Prussia! So off you both go!”

And that was that as Italy handed them towels. Prussia shrugged and easily complied, after all it was his brother’s house he didn’t care. If he had cared a bit more he would have stated that his pants were fine and that only his uniform jacket along with a bit of his under shirt were stained. Japan was beyond confused as to why the green eyed brunette was being so persistent but he couldn’t say no, so both of them went off to shower in different rooms while she told them their clothes would be done by the time they were finished.

The female snickered as they did what they were told. Germany let out a frustrated sigh. “Hungary, what exactly are you doing now?”

She stuck out her tongue mischievously. “Oh having my little _fun_ of the day with those two~” But her expression soon turned to a frown. “You would think they’d save water by showering together but noooo they had to be boring.” Hungary said pouting.

Germany cringed at the thought as Italy mused.

“Hmm, Germany we should save water like Miss Hungary says!” He whined as he hovered over but a quick smack on the head from a blushing Germany shut him up.

“I didn’t say anything wrong!”

“You already invade my personal space more than I’d even tolerate so no thank YOU. It’s completely unnecessary.”

“What’s this, what’s this, what else do you two share?” She asked curiously.

“ _Nothing_.” Germany said unamused.

Hungary pouted as she went off to take care of the clothing.

* * *

 

The clothes were done quicker than expected due to Hungary taking care of the stains herself and putting the slightly wet clothing in the dryer. She called Italy over and handed him the clean dry clothing once they were done, instructing him to leave them in the designated rooms. The Italian reached the rooms and put each of their clothes on each of their beds. It wasn't until he walked back to the living room that he noticed he hadn't asked Hungary who was in which room. He shrugged it off and figured it was alright. They'd figure it out. Italy didn't realize that he'd find himself in a predicament shortly afterward.

To Japan’s horror when he came out of the shower with nothing but a towel on he recognized the oh so familiar blue military uniform that lied on the bed just outside the bathroom. When Prussia came out of the shower, he noticed the familiar white military uniform and cackled with amusement as he accepted the challenge.

Some time passed and both males surely took their time until one of the doors finally opened only to reveal a very timid and embarrassed Japan peaking out of the room. He walked towards the living room with furrowed eyebrows and a frown. The uniform had fit him alright, but it was practically much looser on him, clearly not his size. He had a look of pure embarrassment on his face as he folded the bottom of the pants so he wouldn’t step on them any longer. He instantly thought of how good Prussia always looked in his uniform. His long well toned legs, and the way his pants just hugged around his nice firm butt—okay he stopped right there. He huffed ready to question whereabouts of his uniform when he saw Italy.

“Ve~ Japan! You look so cute with Prussia’s uniform!~”

A deadly aura surrounded Japan as he immediately grabbed hold of the other’s shoulders with deadly gleam.

“AH JAPAN IS SCARY! I’m scared! What did I do!”

"Italy-kun... is this a terrible joke?"

Germany finally decided to look up from his papers. “What’s wrong—OH…? Japan why are you wearing my bruder’s clothing?! Italy I thought Hungary told you to give them their clothes.”

“B-B-But I did! I went to the rooms and—oh but I didn't ask Miss Hungary which rooms you guys were in.”

Japan sighed in heavy frustration. He immediately let go of the Italian. He looked terrified after all.

“Awww you look so _cute_ ~!” The green eyed brunette cooed.

Of course it was the Hungarian woman, it always somehow was _her_. An all familiar gleam appeared in her eyes when she walked in. Horrified expression still on him, Japan pleaded. “Hungary-san if you’d so kindly hand me my own clothing…” He waved his arms around as the sleeves from the uniform kept slipping down.

She tilted her head. “I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

Japan frowned. “Hungary-SAN.” He said sternly, feeling like he was dealing with a child hiding the object seeked.

“Well my dear think about it. If you have Prussia’s clothes then who do you think has yours hmm?” She teased.

 _Oh no._ Realization struck the Japanese and then his thoughts were interrupted by the rough swing of a door opening with an irritated Prussia stomping about. _Oh no…_

“Alright whose idea was it to make the awesome me wear cute little Japan’s uniform—” His eyes widened when he noticed everyone outside along with Japan wearing what seemed to be _his_ uniform.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things as he studied a blushing Japan with his uniform fitting much looser on him. The sight was extremely adorable actually. Prussia seemed to have gotten it worse though. While Japan was even shocked Prussia was somehow able to fit into his pants, the jacket was actually over his shoulders and back covering him like a cape. He had no under shirt, so he was shirtless and _distracting_ if Japan were to be honest. The white pants looked like high waters on the albino which made Germany lightly snicker. And boy did the pants look ever so tight revealing his well toned _assets_ ; it wasn’t as bad of an image as Japan thought it’d be. _Wait_ , the situation itself was terrible, why was he admiring Prussia in his clothing no less?!

“Japan! If you wanted to wear my clothing all you had to was ask! It’s a little cruel to make me wear yours unless you're into that.” He smirked.

Japan pouted. “Prussia-kun… You have the wrong idea!”

“OHHH yes!!” Hungary started snapping pictures of them.

That’s when it all made sense to the albino.

“Oh. She wanted pictures… Well you don’t look half bad in my clothing." He mused. "Actually, maybe you should wear my clothing for sexy times too. Kesesese!”

Japan’s jaw slightly dropped. He couldn’t believe it. _Of course_ Prussia wouldn’t be embarrassed by any of this after a while. The smaller male sighed in defeat.

“Please no.”

“WAIT!” Hungary interrupted. “What other kinks do you guys have in the bedroom?! Do you actually cosplay?!” Hungary had that bright gleam in her eyes again.

“Oh ja. Japan likes to sometimes dress me up like anime characters—OW!” A swift neck chop came his way from the smaller male.

He swiftly interrupted steering away from _that_ topic. “Prussia-kun, what happened to my white undershirt? I usually wear one with my uniform.”

“Oh that? I don’t know. That’s why I’m shirtless.” He grinned.

Japan couldn’t help but continue staring at those firm looking pectorals and that really nice abdomen that he could put his face over and—okay he really _needed_ to stop that.

“Like what you see Japan?” Prussia smirked again with visible pride.

The other’s face reddened even more.

“Yes yes this is perfect!” More snapping from the camera continued.

 _Damn it_ , Japan couldn’t take this any longer.

“Ve… I’m sorry. I got the rooms confused and Japan your shirt is over here—eh?” Italy was holding up said shirt.

Prussia lifted up Japan off his feet contently walking him to the room after he grabbed the shirt Italy had held up. “Well we’ll be back. We’re going to change back into each other’s clothes and actually put some shoes on haha!”

“Prussia-kun! Why must you always do this?! I do not like being carried!” Japan squirmed around.

Why did it always have to bridal style too?

Prussia nose rubbed the squirming Japan who suddenly froze from more embarrassment. “You really do look good in my uniform.”

“I LOVE IT! DON’T HOLD BACK YOU TWO! KEEP AT IT!” Hungary said excitedly.

Germany cleared his throat as he face palmed. “Bruder… if you’re going to do _things_ go back to your house.”

“West! I’ll be good! We’re just switching clothes promise!” Prussia grinned.

“Germany and I change in the same room all the time so it's no problem~ Stuff doesn't always happen though.”

“OH~ Really? Do tell me more. I believe I don’t have enough information on you both~”

Germany really needed some good beer right then and there. He only hoped Prussia would honestly keep his promise and keep it _clean_ in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yeah. Whether or not they did naughty things is up to you guys. Who knows maybe they just cuddled and nose rubbed while checking each other out. *SHRUGS* IDK but they're cute as hell. You can't convince me otherwise. 
> 
> The theme for tomorrow is freakin' cosplaying. So I'm debating on that. I'll see. *not all that interested in that but might give it a shot* Depending on if I'm not tired tonight I might upload it in a few hours. Still not sure. Thank you to those who are reading this! Hope you have a wonderful day/night!


	7. Day 7 - Cosplaying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d honestly like to thank all the cosplaying/crossdressing fics I’ve read within the year because god damn there are honestly good ones out there HAHA. Which is probably why my fic seems similar. So yes this one’s like a college AU. I’m going the typical anime scene here. It’s just too fun to pass up. I was debating between badass Kiku or not but… I’m sorry I’m a pervert friends. R.i.p. me.
> 
> Edit: Oh and you can see this as crossdressing instead but point being one of them sure as hell won't be wearing their usual clothing haha.

"W-What?!"

Kiku Honda, yes the timid and soft spoken Japanese college student sounded neither angry nor resigned. He was more horrified than anything and just a hint of hope in his eyes, hope that this request was a joke.

"Oh come on you’re the only one who could pull it off and we definitely need help raising money right now for that trip," Elizabeta insisted, holding out the horrendous maid garment she’d pulled from the bag just a moment before.

Kiku’s expression crumbled even more. "Elizabeta-san!"

"Kiku dear, I know this is a big favor but we are honestly low on people right now for the cafe and nobody else wants to do it. Most of the girls are off busy with their exams and I know you’re a dependable sweet heart when it comes to times like these. Nobody you know will come by! So pretty please," Elizabeta begged, her emerald green eyes having a hint of sadness on them. _Oh no_ , not those puppy eyes. _God damn it_ he could never say no to his friends especially the persistent brunette.

Kiku looked agonized. His gaze darted between the Hungarian female and the exit, simply wanting to run as far and as fast as he could from the room. The green eyed brunette thought he would for a moment and was prepared to tackle him down if so, but she suddenly heard him sigh in defeat. He nodded, eyes never leaving the ground.

 _‘Yes!’_ she internally cheered.

With hands that shook just a bit, Kiku took the outfit.

"I’ll inform the girls about the good news!" She said brightly, and left the room. After she closed the door, she was unable to restrain herself from giggles and smiles. She could only imagine how adorable her friend was going to look.

* * *

 

"W-What?" Gilbert paused, his eyes stopped reading the page he was so previously focused on from his book.

He turned to Elizabeta, who had a wide grin.

"What did you say?" Gilbert questioned as his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I said, you should head out to our maid café or even the room next to it, enjoy the scene a bit. We need more people!'" she grinned even wider, as if that were humanly possible.

"After that woman!"

"Oh, _that_." She had a cheeky expression pasted on to her face, as her eyes practically danced about.

"Mein gott, yes THAT." Gilbert started impatiently tapping hit foot.

"Hehe," she giggled loudly, "Well, if you really want me to repeat it… I said, _'Kiku's in the main cafeteria, dressed up as a cute little maid helping me and the girls out'_ and you know—”

Gilbert stood up abruptly and the Hungarian female said no more as she watched, her eyes twinkling with intrigue and amusement as she saw the brooding male storm out. She knew he’d try to keep calm about it.

 _“Goodluck Gilbert~”_ She said to herself.

* * *

 

The cafeteria was being used as the café for the students raising money for their trip to France. Gilbert had to admit, as he walked in, that the girls had gone all out. From the inside it didn’t even look like a college cafeteria anymore. It had a spacious but cozy atmosphere to it. The theme was a little too fluffy, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. He would have appreciated it a little more if he hadn’t heard that special news from Elizabeta.

"Mister Gilbert!" a small Taiwanese girl called out, waving him over to the nearby counter as she wore her own maid outfit.

"Hey Mei," he greeted, taking a few glances around to see if he could spot the object of his desire anywhere. "How’s the _substitute_ working out?" he asked curiously wondering if what he had heard was true. He felt a bit of guilt for wanting to see Kiku for himself like _that_.

"Great!" the smaller female replied enthusiastically, causing Gilbert to raise an eyebrow. "I wasn’t even informed Kiku would be helping us, but he’s really been reeling in the customers! He’s performing gracefully as expected of him and some people already claimed him as a favorite! Oh, Natasha needs something though. Please excuse me, and thanks again Mister Gilbert!"

“Uh, you can stop calling me _Mister_ I’m not that old sheesh!”

She giggled as she walked away yelling _‘okay’_ that she’d try. He wondered how long it took her to stop referring to Kiku as Mister as well. Gilbert watched her go, completely bewildered.

"Gil!” He turned around and found Antonio waving him over to one of the lavender-clothed tables. He was seated with, Francis, Alfred, and Arthur. Gilbert wandered over, still trying to figure out where the heck Kiku was at. Was it all just a joke?

"Elizabeta is one _sly_ chica," Antonio whispered, when Gilbert got close enough. "I knew she liked yaoi and stuff but she is _pure evil_ ," he continued speaking with hints of admiration.

"Oui. She has truly outdone herself," France complimented, though there was _definitely_ something off about his smile.

Arthur and Alfred simply looked stunned and were wearing identical expressions with a hint of— _wait_ —were they blushing?! When they saw Gilbert looking at them, they both looked away with shame. Gilbert raised an eyebrow. _Very very suspicious._

"I bet Elizabeta just begged him to do it. Poor soul.” Antonio said with a hint of sympathy.

Gilbert frowned. And here he was hoping to see his best friend, the object of his affection, the guy he wanted to ask out for a while but hadn’t been able to.

Francis let out a soft chuckle. "So Gilbert, when exactly are you planning to confess? Today? Next week? Next year maybe? You better hurry it up or other people might ask him after today. He looks absolutely scrumptious.”

The albino glared at his friend.

“Stupid frog. Stop being a perv—”

Francis leaned over to cover the Englishman’s mouth with a finger. “Don’t be jealous mon amour. You are looking too~”

“I AM NOT!” Arthur slapped the other’s hand away.

“Francis! That’s not cool man.” Alfred cut in after being silent for so long.

“I am simply admiring, Alfred and so are _you_. Trust moi a little more to not do anything inappropriate.”

Arthur scoffed.

“So where the heck is the talk of the whole café anyway? And would you stop blushing already Alfred!” Gilbert interrupted, grumbling in annoyance.

“What?! It’s not my fault Kiku looks—” He caught himself and stopped his sentence.

“What? What does Kiku look like?” Gilbert bit his lip in anticipation.

“Calm down. We’re just trying to—uh—not be inappropriate. Kiku actually looks uh— _cute_.” Arthur managed to finish the sentence looking away.

Gilbert gaped. Did Arthur Kirkland actually compliment another person without being a tsundere about it?! Holy—

"Oui, very wonderfully cute indeed," Francis said as he sighed in delight. "He's been the perfect host."

“Host- _ess_ my friend. Hostess!” Antonio added.

"Ah there he is," Francis said, pointing behind the albino. "See for yourself Mon Cher~"

He turned only to blink a few times. He forgot to breathe.

Under normal circumstances, men shouldn’t have looked that _good_ in a damn maid outfit but, Kiku’s regular build was already slender, though he knew the Japanese had some good abs of his own just not as noticeable as say, Alfred’s or his. He was smaller than a typical male too and his delicate features didn’t help the case. He was _perfect_. No wonder Elizabeta chose him. She was a _devious_ one indeed. He was wearing a frilly, lacy pastel baby blue and white maid costume and stockings that wrapped perfectly around his slender legs.

Gilbert wouldn’t have been surprised if his lungs collapsed right then and there.

"Whoa, are you okay dude?" Alfred asked, waving his hand in front of the albino, sounding concerned.

"I think I know how he feels," Arthur said miserably. “I need a drink.”

“Ask sweet little Kiku to bring you a drink mon amour~” Francis teased.

“Shut IT you perverted wanker!” 

The first word that came to Gilbert’s mind was, _soft._ Kiku’s features were already much more beautiful and my goodness it was working to his favor with that outfit and the theme! Everything looked so fluffy, so touchable, so—Gilbert wanted to touch him, like right there and then. He had _other_ thoughts too but he knew it’d be way too inappropriate towards his close friend.

Someone had brought Gilbert a glass of something. He didn’t know or care what it was, barely remembering to thank them. They practically didn’t exist as far as he was concerned. Kiku really was an excellent maid. Considerate, polite, delightful, graceful, and even hardworking, he was the whole package! But of course! He was starting to mentally bow down to Elizabeta. He instantly shook off those thoughts.

"What do you think of our little Kiku, Gilbert? Hmm? Graceful is he not?” Francis observed softly, chin in hand, a light smile on his lips.

He was beyond speechless. He wanted to get up and happily wave at Kiku or just go over and ask to help him, or just make him laugh but he was utterly speechless. He couldn’t do anything. He was about to answer Francis, but his train of thought got interrupted when one of the guys from the neighboring dorm building got bold and asked Kiku out. When the Japanese politely rejected him, the male got up off his seat and gave him a peck on the cheek telling him to please reconsider his request. It didn’t help when the guy next to him got much bolder than the previous one and passed by groping the smaller male’s butt as he was occupied with his trays.

Kiku squeaked but made sure not to drop the trays he was holding onto. Gilbert at that moment had never felt his blood boil as much as it did that day. Before everybody knew it the albino had rushed over to knock the bold asshole flat on his face, making his companion who had given Kiku the peck on the cheek quiver in fear as he ran off saying he wasn’t aware that Kiku was taken. And in that instant people made a mental note to never really overstep their boundaries with Kiku Honda or Gilbert Beilschmidt.

If anyone were to ask, it was definitely worth the detention he got.

Gilbert stormed down the hall trying to get rid of the adrenaline rush he had. He hadn’t realized that Kiku was chasing after him.

"Gilbert-kun! Gilbert-kun, where are you going? Why did you do that? I could have handled it! Now you’re in trouble and—Gilbert-kun!" The albino ignored him, until he heard one final call of desperation.

“Gilbert-kun…. _please_ …stop.”

That surely made him stop in his tracks and he hesitantly turned around. "What is it?" he snapped on reflex.

He didn’t want to be like this with Kiku. No, he didn’t want to be irritated and bratty. He wanted to be his usual level-headed and playful self.

"Please calm down.” Kiku looked like he was actually scared of him for once. That made Gilbert finally cool off a bit. It hurt seeing that expression from his friend. He couldn’t resist. He pulled Kiku into one of the classrooms. He let go of the smaller male as he tried to just take deep breaths, his back pushed hard against the closed door.

"May you please explain what happened back there? You’ve never lost your temper like that…" Kiku said quietly.

"I got _jealous_. That _arschloch_ touched you and I just lost it. Simple as that Kiku," Gilbert answered bluntly not making eye contact.

"W-What…?" Kiku felt his cheeks heat up, but he couldn’t find it in himself to be happy regardless of the sudden confession. His best friend just got in trouble for defending him and despite him liking Gilbert he just couldn’t find it in himself to be happy.

"I-I’m pathetic," Gilbert said with a bitter laugh. "I ended up making a fool of myself, didn’t I? And all because I didn’t tell you my feelings sooner. I should have just let you take care of it."

The Japanese male cautiously approached his friend. He would have been much more awkward about it and even a bit hesitant but the situation was appropriate. Gilbert looked so distraught and it hurt. He slowly wrapped his arms around Gilbert’s waist, pressing them together against the door. "Hai Gilbert-kun," he admitted.

The albino finally gave into the impulse to slide his fingers into Kiku's hair—it was just as soft as it looked. "I really like you Kiku…"

Kiku felt his heart rate speed up and his face heat up. “I-I like Gilbert-kun very much too.”

Gilbert face flushed instantly. He hadn’t imagined his confession going that way, but he’d take it.

"Ja? You like the awesome me too?” He grinned as he let out a sigh of relief.

Kiku smiled as he buried his red face into the albino’s chest and mumbled a _yes_. Kiku really was too cute but Gilbert's sudden relief was cuter. It was both comforting and strange how they both didn’t exactly need each other but somehow made each other better, and somehow balanced each other out when one of them was missing something. Before Gilbert even realized, he looked forward to every single moment he’d spend with his friend. That was probably the best part.

His eyes appreciated the lacy frills of the outfit. He desperately wanted to run his hands down Kiku, but _no no no_ he would hold back! That’d be for another time. Yes, another time… His head raced with thoughts of Kiku.

“Gilbert-kun?” The smaller male looked up with curious eyes interrupting the other's thoughts.

“Uh…”

How could someone look so innocent yet delicious at the same time? That honestly should have been illegal.

“Kiku! You shouldn’t wear maid outfits at school anymore.” He blurted out.

The Japanese raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because they’re _distracting_.” Gilbert said as he continued to avoid eye contact.

“ _Gilbert-kun._ Are you being inappropriate?” Kiku’s voice sounded much sterner this time around.

The albino felt himself become a nervous wreck. “N-No...”

“I didn’t want to wear this…Elizabeta-san said—”

“Ja I know. You don’t have to explain. She was the one who told me.”

Kiku sighed. “I’ve been uncomfortable in this since I wore it…She lied.” He pouted.

“With what?”

“She said no one I knew would see….but then I noticed Alfred-san and Francis-san and everybody else…and then you!”

Gilbert cracked his knuckles and felt sudden pain. “Ow!”

Kiku put his hand over Gilbert’s bruised knuckle. “Gilbert-kun, you need to be more careful and let me handle myself. I do not—”

“I know," he said softly. "You can take care of yourself. I trust you okay? And I’m sorry. That was stupid of me.”

He looked down at the other as they smiled silently agreeing. 

“I need to get back to the café.” 

Gilbert grumbled as he wrapped his arms over Kiku a bit more possessively. “I want to stay here a bit longer with you…” He took the liberty of resting his chin on the raven haired male’s head.

But then the door behind them swung open as Gilbert had to catch himself in order to not fall on his back with Kiku. They stumbled breaking apart from each other’s hold. It was Elizabeta.

“Ah ha!~ Caught you two love birds. As disappointed as I am at you two not doing anything MORE here, I am a bit relieved because I need Kiku back! People are demanding him.”

“Oi oi, Lizzie, what the heck?!” 

She smiled at the albino. “I know he’s officially _yours_ now and all but he’s doing me a huge favor! Unless you know, you’d like to help.” She hinted with A smirk forming on her lips as she challenged him.

Gilbert glared her way. He was never one to back down from a challenge as he had a stare down with her.

Kiku simply looked at them in awe. It felt like an old Western showdown. He tried not to let his mind wander.

“Fine. I’ll help you... for Kiku.”

“What a good _boyfriend_ you are.” A diabolical smile appearing on the female’s features as she held up a nice pretty frilly pink and white maid outfit. “Your turn!”

“Oh hell no!” Gilbert backed away.

“Oh? You seemed so eager just a second ago. Going back on your word Gilbert Beilschmidt? I’m disappointed.” Elizabeta said with a pout.

“Kiku makes it look way better than it really is! My build isn’t cut out for—”

“Are you calling me girly Gilbert-KUN?” Kiku raised his voice, sounding much more threatening than usual appearing behind him.

Gilbert instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

“O-Of course not Kiku… ha ha!” He said nervously catching himself.

Elizabeta found herself enjoying the show.

"Great! Glad to have you on board!" She threw the outfit at him and dragged him out of the room with Kiku.

Gilbert truly felt despair that day leaving Francis, Antonio, Arthur, and Alfred all in horror. Although Francis and Antonio took the liberty of taking a few pictures here and there for later reference. Kiku on the other hand would sneak glances at the albino in his frilly pink outfit. He personally thought Gilbert looked great, but ah well, more for him to admire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm still debating on adding the extra sort of "Omake/filler" type chapter which would be like a smut chapter with Kiku in the maid outfit...HAHA because well, come on now. My pervy shipping heart couldn't contain myself. I love desk smut. I mean what? *fans self* Anyway, still thinking about it. But I'll be working on the rest when I can!


	8. Day 8 - Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this brief chapter was inspired by this post on tumblr:
> 
> http://scary-skeleton-man.tumblr.com/post/103689537420/aph-japan-shopping-aph-japan-shopping-with-aph 
> 
> and thought it was hilarious and so them. So I decided to sort of write out a scenario with it. I've been pretty busy lately with homework and what not, along with actually getting back to writing for other fandoms BUT I WILL DEFINITELY KEEP THIS CHALLENGE UP. THESE BABIES NEED ALL THE LOVE THEY CAN GET IN THE ENGLISH FANDOM. Plus I've just been drabbling a lot of new fics for them lately too. So I can't wait to post those.
> 
> OH RIGHT AS FOR THE MAID SMUT I didn't finish that yet so I'll probably end up posting it on tumblr while linking it to the previous chapter so people won't be all confused to the random sex scene.

"So _you_ and _Japan_ , Prussia...." The Hungarian woman began.

Prussia raised an eyebrow. “What about _us_?”

“How are you two?” Hungary asked with a light smile, totally hinting at something _more_.

“Good. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“NO! That’s not what I meant!”

“Just tell me what you mean then. I can’t understand your second language.” He huffed.

The green eyed brunette sighed. “Your _sex_ life.”

Prussia’s eyes narrowed and he chuckled. “Since when were you so interested in my personal—”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I could care less what you do in your spare time. I’m talking about you _and_ sweet little Japan.”

“ _Sweet_ … _little_ …well, he is small.” Prussia mused.

“Small on what?! I’ve heard things but—”

“Oh mein GOTT I’m not talking about that!”

“So it’s big?!” Hungary gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands.

“Dear lord woman I am not saying a thing!” Prussia brought his hand up to his face in frustration.

“Fine, fine. Be a party pooper.” She stuck out her tongue. “Well, are you at least enjoying yourselves?”

“Yeah.”

“Details, Prussia. _Details_ …” Hungary said losing her patience.

“Sheesh, do you want a written novel?”

“Well if you could—”

“You are _crazy_.”

“Not exactly. You write in your little diary all the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if—” Another gleam in her green eyes as she paused. “Your _diary_ …”

“My diary isn’t a porno stash for your information.” He sighed and groaned. “Why are you asking all of a sudden about our sex life? That’s pretty personal you know.”

“Hmm, because the results just came in again this year from the sex survey.” The Hungarian female said with an amused smirk.

“What?! That already came out? Why the heck didn’t I hear about it?”

“Well Prussia, you’re not exactly sexually—”

“Why should that stuff matter anyway?” He interrupted clearing his throat.

Hungary smiled coming to an understanding. “You’re right. It shouldn’t.”

* * *

 

“So Mister Japan! I see you and Mister Prussia are doing well!” Taiwan said happily as she checked out the items from Japan’s basket and ran them through the scanner.

“Yes we are. We just came to get necessities.”

“Oh? Living together already?” Taiwan giggled.

Japan lightly blushed. “Uhm, no. He’s just helping me gather things.”

“Ah, I see. How sweet and considerate~” She continued on.

“I never knew you worked at this store.” Japan blinked a bit taken back at the realization.

“Oh. I’m just covering for someone hehe.” The Taiwanese paused as she slyly grinned. “OH—Mister Japan~ I do see things are going _mighty well_ for you two indeed!” She said running a pack of condoms through the scanner.

Japan hadn’t noticed when Prussia had snuck them onto the basket. _Damn him._ He was quite good at distracting him, kudos to him. The albino snickered to himself until Japan turned around giving him a quick icy glare.

“Okay so the total will be 1,800 yen including the condoms~ I am so happy you two are being healthy! I was afraid maybe you’d both be discouraged because of the sex poll results but looks like it’s done the opposite for you two eh? Motivated as ever!” She said ever so enthusiastically.

Japan’s face was as red as a tomato as he looked around hoping nobody else heard. He handed Taiwan the money. The young woman simply smiled to them as Prussia stayed quiet, holding off his smiling, aware of how much deeper he’d be digging his grave if he went along with whatever Taiwan was saying, but mentally celebrated his victory. When they had gotten back to Japan’s he was scolded of course.

“Prussia-kun! I thought you said sex didn’t matter as much!” The smaller male frowned tapping his foot against the floor.

“Japan…we were out of condoms.” Prussia frowned this time looking like a kicked puppy. “And ja, it doesn’t matter as much but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to please you.”

The smaller male found himself blushing again. What a curse to be easily embarrassed by his rather blunt partner.

“Are you upset at the results of—”

“Nein. Why would I be?” Prussia immediately responded as he shook his head.

At the back of his mind, he did sort of regret not being Japan’s first, but what could he have done? He had to constantly remind himself it wasn’t a competition either, that Japan was with him and that whenever they did engage in sexual activity (which wasn’t as often as anyone would think due to their duties) it would always be a mixture of slow and steady exploration to eventual rougher and hungrier touches, kisses, bites, licks, and thrusts. Sex was so much more than a quick feel good fuck for them, though those times were also adventurous but quite rare.

“I apologize for not always being active in that department—”

“Shhhh,” Prussia hushed as he closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around the Japanese’s waist. “If all I wanted was sex I would have made that clear from the start Japan. I like you for you. You make me feel really good.” He grinned cheerfully at the other.

Wow his smile was always such a light hearted sight. Japan buried his face into Prussia’s chest in response to feeling his cheeks redden. He was too speechless to say anything because whenever he had nothing left to say, Prussia’s arms were always where he wanted to be.

“But see, at least now we’re prepared. The awesome me always thinks ahead so I bought the flavored kind too! Maybe next time we can get flavored lube too—”

Japan, with his face still buried in the albino’s chest, reached up to pull on Prussia’s cheek.

“Ow, ow, owww! Japan!” Prussia grabbed the other’s small hand and managed to pull his hand away. He raised an eyebrow when he realized the other hadn’t looked up at him with an angry expression or glare.

“Japan?” Prussia lowered his head blowing on the dark strands of hair.

“Why is Prussia-kun always saying embarrassing things?” Japan muttered.

“Kesesese, did I make you blush again?”

Japan wondered if Prussia even realized how many times in one day he’d make him blush. It was quite a feat. He felt like he was losing his touch at his neutral expressions. No, no. He was still good at that, just not with Prussia…

“Please refrain from telling others of our sexual activities. Hungary-san and Taiwan-san keep talking about it on their blog…”

The albino’s jaw dropped. “ _Already?!_ ”

Japan finally looked up angrily pouting at Prussia. “Prussia-kun…I saw your like on the post too…”

“Oh…hehe…I—” He scratched his head, not knowing how to respond. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights.

Japan gave him an unamused look as he held onto the albino.

“What! They wished us luck on our journey and Taiwan even gave me a thumbs up for getting the flavored kind!”

The smaller male gaped.

“I am definitely getting too _old_ for blogging…” Japan said to himself in defeat.

“Wha—? Nein Japan, anyone can blog! Even old people like us.” Prussia reassured ruffling his hair.

 _‘But Prussia-kun isn’t as old as I am…’_ the smaller nation thought to himself.

And that wasn’t exactly the point he was making in the first place, but Japan figured he’d try keeping up with the times as much as he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ANYWAY, yeah them flavored condoms eh? While writing out that part I actually thought Japan wouldn't be as embarrassed talking about it but then I figured he'd be embarrassed talking about it when it was about HIS sex life and not about say, someone else's sex life. Things are usually more embarrassing for you when it's about yourself and not someone else hahaha. I mean I could see it either way, Japan being embarrassed talking about his sex life especially around others or simply seeing it as natural and all that but I also figure he likes being very reserved about all that stuff and possibly still gets shy at some mention of it even with his partner. It'd probably take a while for him to be okay and adjust talking about different things for foreplay with his partner and what not because like I said, this is all natural stuff I'm sure he's heard of, read about, and what not. This is Japan and he is a little pervert himself hehe. I need to write him shamelessly talking about this stuff one day HAHA.
> 
> P.S. I definitely edited the yen price I gave...??? Because I just realized I hadn't put 1500 like I thought I had??? but I decided 1800 was a nicer number. That's almost like 15 dollars in U.S. currency??? Not so good at figuring out prices.... so do correct me!


	9. Day 9 - Hanging out with friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Human names used here and I decided Hong Kong = Leon 
> 
> So don't be confused. Oh, this chapter wasn't TOO Prupan centric (but still focuses on them) since this is technically hanging out with friends and stuff. Hehe soooo....
> 
> Lalalala have some Hongtai hints thrown at you!~ (Tiny bit of Fruk too, lesser than Hongtai) Oh and if you haven't noticed AusHun is like air to me. Wherever Elizabeta may be she is either engaged or married to Austria k? K cool we have come to an understanding. They are THAT canon to me.

While they enjoyed spending alone time with one another, Kiku Honda grew to have a few close friends of his own while Gilbert Beilschmidt never really considered anyone a _close friend_ per say, but he guessed Elizabeta and Roderich were close enough when it came to actually spending time and talking to other people about things. Did his younger brother count? Yes, of course he did, how could the awesome him forget Ludwig? Okay so he had his fair share of close friends as well. There were days Kiku and Gilbert would not see one another but make sure to at least text or call each other at night before bed. There were other days where they would hang out with each other’s friends. One thing Kiku would attempt to avoid was gathering his and Gilbert’s friends all together. It tended to be a disaster, or better yet, Elizabeta always seemed to be planning ahead in her area of personal _entertainment_. The worst part was when he introduced Mei to her. Oh, yes the true terror of women began.

So today was that sort of day where all their friends decided to get together at Ludwig’s house. _Oh_ , but Ludwig had a bad feeling about it, especially when Elizabeta mentioned something about alcoholic beverages. That detail sort of caught everybody off guard, regardless of them all being legal adults. The Hungarian woman wasn’t really known as a drinker in the first place. Sure she could handle her liquor, but she wasn’t a frequent drinker at that. So when she had hinted it at Gilbert, well, of course he would jump on the bandwagon and the sudden mention of beer made Ludwig’s ears perk up as he was reeled in. The green eyed woman mentally patted herself on the back for how easy the German brothers were.

Feliciano hadn’t held back on inviting people he knew. Ludwig surely scolded him but it was too late when people started showing up at his door left and right. He heavily sighed being thankful for having a spacious home at least. Francis and Antonio had been invited by Feliciano, while Francis by default brought Arthur along and ended up inviting Alfred after the younger male started complaining about _not_ being invited. Antonio declined due to Lovino getting sick (which actually relieved Ludwig because too many people in his home, no thank you). Gilbert and Kiku hadn’t invited anybody, but Elizabeta on her end invited Mei and Leon. Mostly because she had plans for a lot of people, _yes_ , it’d definitely be _fun_.

* * *

 

“Bullocks! That’s not true. I remember I was the one who got the only 'A' in that class.” Arthur gloated as he took a drink of his scotch.

“Artie you’re lying! I remember getting an 'A' there too!” Alfred protested.

“Mon amour likes to gloat about his English and exaggerate a tad bit~ But I recall passing with a high mark myself.” Francis said as he poured himself some wine.

“You weren’t all that great, FROG and Alfred, you hardly ever paid attention in that class so excuse me for not believing you.”

“Oui Oui, Arthur.” Francis figured he’d let him have this one.

There was no use in arguing while he was drinking. Besides, he didn’t want to spoil his wine, but Alfred wasn’t letting it go any time soon.

Meanwhile Feliciano was forcing Ludwig to karaoke with him.

“Mein gott Feliciano… I am not a good singer…” He admitted with embarrassment written all over his face.

“Ve~ Luddy! You’re doing fine!” The Italian said clinging to his arm.

“Ludwig-san always looks like he’s having such a fun time with Feliciano-kun.” Kiku muttered to the albino sitting next to him on the couch.

“Ja. Feli-chan is always a delight. Why wouldn’t Lutz have fun?”

They both smiled as they suddenly heard Ludwig singing as low as possible until Elizabeta shouted from the across the room calling him out.

“I can’t hear you Ludwig! Put more feeling into it! You’re pathetic!”

Ludwig couldn’t believe what he heard as he blushed from embarrassment. A few giggles coming from the Taiwanese girl, Mei, were heard on the side but he turned to look at Roderich sitting beside Elizabeta.

Roderich snorted at how enthusiastic his fiancé was, but locked eyes with the German. “You’re putting yourself to shame by not giving it your all.”

He sighed in defeat. Everyone was obviously against him.

“Luddy, Luddy, Luddy! It’s your turn to sing Hotel California!”

“Uhm… bruder?” Ludwig turned around as he chugged the last bit of his beer. “Come sing with us at least.”

“Hmmm, nein I like hearing you and Feli-chan sing. The awesome me is always singing.” Gilbert said closing his eyes taking good drinks out of his keg. “Oh,” he opened his eyes and turned to Kiku who sat next to him. “Are you alright with beer?”

“Hai… I am fine with it.” Kiku said with a faint smile.

“Sorry, Lutz doesn’t have sake right now.”

Kiku blinked a few times in confusion. “I can drink other things too Gilbert-kun.”

“I know that.” He chuckled. “But I also know you’re not too big on beer either.”

“It is quite alright. I have grown to like it believe it or not. It’s similar to how you drink sake with me.” He replied with his smile more apparent. “Beer, it—reminds me of you and it’s something we can both share together.”

Gilbert was a bit taken back by the comment, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink. All he wanted to do at that moment was nuzzle and cuddle with Kiku but Gilbert did neither. He simply started ruffling the smaller male’s raven hair while grinning widely.

“Gilbert-kun?! Please stop!” Kiku swatted his hand away pouting angrily.

“I can’t. You’re too cute.” He leaned closer to the Japanese and kissed his forehead.

Kiku felt his face heat up. _How embarrassing_.

“Ah, they are too cute. I’m so happy for Gilbert.” Elizabeta swooned as she leaned her head on Roderich’s shoulder.

“I’m honestly surprised Kiku even chose him.” The Austrian replied.

“Gilbert is a good person. Don’t sell him short dear. Hehe.” She giggled as she nuzzled against him affectionately.

“How many glasses have you had, Elizabeta?” He asked her with a raised brow.

“Only two. I’m fine.” She pouted feeling offended.

Roderich smiled at the pout.

“Besides, I haven’t exactly finished what I started so I’ll be right back!” She got up off her seat next to her fiancé.

“Aww! Leon stop being so lame.” Mei said tugging on his shirt.

“Mei, I didn’t want to come. The only reason I tagged along was because you said I’d be getting something out of it.”

“Yeah, fun of course!” She grinned.

Leon sighed looking more unamused at the Taiwanese female who wanted to sing karaoke with Feliciano and Ludwig but kept wanting him to tag along. He would have been happier if it weren’t for the fact that she was smiling that widely at him because of the drinks she consumed and not because she genuinely liked his company. Why was it always like that? Why did he even bother?

“Ack, but you look like you’re buzzed and you’re seriously being a handful, more so than usual…” He complained.

Once she got to the scene, the Hungarian woman smirked at the pair sitting on the floor. “Leon, why not go along with it _for_ Mei?”

“What?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked up at the green eyed woman.

“Yeah, you came for _her_ after all. Why not have fun?” She teased.

“N-No.” Leon said, staring the other woman down but felt himself getting redder by the minute.

Mei simply looked at both of them a bit confused.

Leon himself chose not to drink anything. He wasn’t much of a drinker himself, but Mei on the other hand got a hold of a few mixed drinks that Feliciano had made with Elizabeta. Those were lethal alright. Mei was even more cheery than usual and he honestly never knew how to deal with a buzzed Mei. She was more of an occasional drinker, though she never got drunk, she still became a nightmare because even if he wouldn’t want to come to get togethers when alcohol was involved, he’d force himself to go and look after her out of sheer protectiveness.

How the heck did Elizabeta know though? He did not want her to ruin things between him and Mei… it wasn’t like Mei would remember right? No, wait, she would. She wasn’t drunk. He was fine with them being good friends, just fine, he didn’t want meddlers. The Hungarian woman kept her stare.

“Come on Leonnnnnn!” Mei begged.

He sighed in defeat hiding his face in his light brown strands of hair. “ _Fine._ ”

Mei and Elizabeta cheered as she whispered a good luck to him.

* * *

 

Night time arrived sooner than expected and Arthur got a piggy back ride back home by Francis because according to him, _“If you carry me back bridal style, this will be your last night to live you bloody frog.”_

Alfred laughed the whole way back home with them as he took pictures, never having consumed a single drop of alcohol that night. He’d be sure to show Arthur the next morning.

Feliciano fell asleep on the couch curled up next to Ludwig rather closely with tangled limbs. Everybody insisted Ludwig not move and disturb the Italian’s sleep and told him they knew the way out. Ludwig wasn’t sure who was even on his side anymore. Gilbert and Kiku helped clean up. Truth be told, Kiku was a little more buzzed than usual.

“Gilbert-kun…” Kiku said as he blew in the albino’s ear.

Gilbert jumped up in surprise at how that made him shudder.

“Eh, Kiku, are you buzzed?” He turned around still holding the trash bag in one hand.

“Hm, I think so, but I feel just fine. I just wanted to see how would you react because you always do that me when I least expect it.” Kiku smiled with a look of triumph in his eyes.

 _Cute_ , was all Gilbert could even think to say.

He chuckled as he turned around to continue picking up trash. Kiku couldn’t help himself but admire the albino’s muscular back and firm butt as he bent down. He always looked so good in whatever clothing he wore. His pants always hugged around his lower half perfectly, but then again if he were those pants he wouldn’t want to let go either. And bless the fact Ludwig’s house got warmer, if not he wouldn’t be able to admire Gilbert’s nicely toned arms as he wore a muscle shirt. He shamelessly stared longer than expected as Gilbert felt a pair of hungry eyes staring at him. He turned around once more, but Kiku stealthily looked away on time to pick up a disposable cup.

“Are you checking me out?” Gilbert asked in an almost amused tone.

He knew Kiku would get a bit more playful with alcohol, and if that was the case he’d be having a bit of fun tonight. The Japanese felt like he had been caught stealing from the cookie jar but simply shook his head side to side with a hard blush on him.

Roderich had left to go get the car while Elizabeta said she’d be _quick_. As she walked into Ludwig’s house again she wasn’t sure which pair she wanted to tease. They all looked like easy targets. She figured she’d start with the Hong Kong guy. She walked over grinning as Leon rolled his eyes.

“She fell asleep?” 

He sighed as moved a strand of Mei’s hair away from her face. “Yeah.”

“Hm, how long have you liked her?”

“Since we were kids.” He muttered. 

He figured why hide it now?

“Why haven’t you told her?” Elizabeta raised an eyebrow.

“It’s nobody’s business.” He replied breaking eye contact to look back at the sleeping female.

“You’re afraid aren’t you? You seem very protective of her and she was clinging a lot to you while she drank.”

“That makes me her babysitter and older brother figure, even if we're not related, but not a potential lover. Besides she says she hates me a lot,” a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Elizabeta giggled. “Not necessarily. It seems she trusts you and your opinion must really mean a lot to her for her to even react like that. Do you really think a girl would want a guy to see her the way she is now? She looks at peace with you like that."

"It's the alcohol."

The Hungarian woman continued to smile. "You have to show her how you really feel or else she’ll keep being oblivious.”

“I kind of want her to be.”

The Hungarian woman’s eyes slightly widened. “Oh?”

 _“Mmm Leon. You’re a jerk,_ ” Mei mumbled as she turned her head on his lap.

“See what I mean? I’m always the jerk for being truthful.” 

“That’s not bad, she just doesn’t know why you act the way you do.”

A buzzing in her purse stopped her from continuing on. “I have to go anyway. I actually just wanted to check on you two.”

Leon frowned. “You’re lying. You wanted to get some pictures of us along with everybody else here.”

“Touché… I did.” She said winking. “But I already have more than enough for tonight! I’ll walk away happily.”

_Right..._

Leon still didn’t believe her and he was right not to because before she left she took a quick picture of Kiku putting his hands in Gilbert’s butt pockets as the smaller male panicked and pleaded for her to delete the photo.

When Gilbert and Kiku finished cleaning up with the eventual help of Ludwig, the pair said their goodbyes.

“Leon-san, are you going to be taking Mei-san home?” Kiku asked.

“Yeah, I was about to leave when I saw you two walking out. I just didn’t want to wake up Mei but I unfortunately did.”

Kiku softly smiled. “You care a lot about her don’t you?”

“Not really.” Leon said with a stoic expression.

The Japanese male chuckled but said no more when he saw Leon give him a look. Mei finally came down the stairs to tag along with them.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep…” The Taiwanese said with a frown as she put her hand against her forehead.

“You didn’t miss a thing.”

“Really, Leon?” She turned to the other as they continued walking.

“Yeah but you snore too much.” 

Mei was quick to respond with a smack to Leon’s head as she grabbed him by the collar. “Why are you such a jerk?!”

“Ah, look at the time, goodbye Kiku, Gilbert.” Leon said changing the subject as they walked away.

Mei grumbled but instantly smiled at the albino and the Japanese. “Bye you guys! I hope to visit you sometime soon Kiku!”

They waved goodbye not saying a word since she went back to bickering with the other.

“He likes her.” Gilbert blurted out.

“Hai, he does.”

“He has an awkward way of showing it though…” Gilbert cringed.

“I believe we were not all that better at first…” The Japanese said with a strained smile.

“Wha—the awesome me was flawless!”

“Hai…Hai…” Kiku said with an unconvinced tone.

“By the way, I think Lizzie already uploaded that photo of you putting your hands in my butt pockets on tumblr. If you’d like, you could get a better feel when we get back home.” Gilbert smirked with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Kiku’s expression instantly turned mortified regardless of the offer being tempting. Yes, he truly regretted each and every single time their friends all came together especially with Elizabeta about.

“Haha hey! Feli-chan and Lutz cuddling on the couch are here too and your friend Mei is tickling that Leon guy.” The albino said as he looked through his phone.

“Really?! I must immediately check my blog when I get home. That photo is a must before Ludwig-san demands it be taken down! Oh and I am happy for Mei-san and Leon-san.”

“Of course you’d have passion for Lutz and Feli-chan wouldn’t you?”

Kiku smiled to himself. While Elizabeta enjoyed watching others be happy, he had to admit he enjoyed watching his male companions come to terms with their feelings openly. And as always, this was another typical day with their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay now I'm off to write some Prupan smut. GOOD DAY!


	10. Day 10 - With Animal Ears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story took a softer more fluffier turn. I honestly started this completely differently but changed everything at the last minute HAHA. It was supposed to be funny and dorky but ah well. I have many more themes to use anyway.

It was that time of the day (or this case early morning), Japan’s usual daily ritual of morning cleaning. As he moved one of his boxes to the storage, he came back into his home only to realize he had forgotten another cardboard box filled with—well he wasn’t sure what half of the things in his storage were anymore. Before he could open said package, there was someone at the door, so he proceeded to answer it. Prussia had come over to help out with cleaning (hoping to get properly rewarded as always with delicious desserts). He figured maybe if he arrived a bit earlier he’d make it on time before Japan would be done! But he was disappointed when Japan told him he was just about finished.

“Ah…why do you always get up so early?” Prussia asked with a frown.

“It gives me more time during the day.” Japan replied as he led Prussia to the main room. “Would you like some tea?”

“Ah, yes please and some cakes?” He asked with a hint of hope.

Japan smiled. He knew Prussia would ask for manjuu, he did it every single time.

“Hai. Of course.”

And with that the Japanese male went off to make tea. Prussia found himself bouncing with excitement. He figured he’d play with Pochi meanwhile. He started ruffling the dog’s hair and grinning at him. Pochi made an appreciative noise as he started walking away from Prussia.

“Oi, Pochi? Where you going? The awesome me’s not done petting you!” Prussia got up and followed the dog, although the same cardboard box Japan was going to put away had caught his eye as he stopped in his tracks to walk towards said box.

“Eh? What’s this?” He peeked inside to find a pair of animal ears, or better yet bunny ears.

The albino had no clue on what to think or how to feel. He knew Japan liked cute things. Heck, he even knew Japan designed cute things. Prussia liked his fair share of cute, but—animal ears? He was never really one to wear such things—except when he was blackmailed. He continued eying the ears and tried imagining Japan in them. He snickered at the thought. He’d look adorable. He hadn’t noticed when the smaller male had come by to check up on him.

“Prussia-kun?”

Prussia turned around to face Japan and held up the ears raising an eyebrow. “What do you even do with these?”

“Well, they’ve been in that box for a while now. I suppose I haven’t used them since I first put them on display to sell.” Japan said.

“So they aren’t a kink of yours right?” Prussia asked with curiosity washed over his face.

Japan sighed. “No. They are not. Would you like them to be? I never knew you liked that—”

“Ha ha! Nein, nein…” The albino scratched the back of his head.

Okay, so _maybe_ he had possibly thought of them coming in handy for possible _activities_ , but never mind _._ And besides bunny ears weren't sexy on him. _  
_

Japan faintly smiled at him. “Would Prussia-kun like to try them on?”

Prussia gaped, mostly because the question was so sudden he hadn’t expected it.

“They’re not my kind of—”

_Oh no_. Japan started giving him the sad pouty face.

“I can even try a pair on myself, although they may not look as good but please bear with me.” Japan searched through the box as Prussia continued looking at the accursed bunny ears in his hand.

He should have just kept his nose out of the damn box! He should have kept chasing Pochi!

And then came the next unbearable part. When Japan had an idea or something he wanted, he became fairly persistent or maybe _fairly_ was a bit of an understatement. He was relentless! He suddenly wanted to see Prussia with bunny ears and take pictures of him with them on. The fact the smaller male put on a pair of cat ears unfazed to play along surely proved it. According to him the bunny ears would be truly adorable on Prussia and they’d _suit_ him, whatever that meant.

“Will you try them on now Prussia-kun?” Japan pleaded. “Please?”

“Uh… nein Japan…,” Prussia protested. “It’s embarrassing sorry...”

“But we are indoors and I already have mine on, so you should accompany me and put yours on too. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Japan pulled Prussia towards him, trying to force the bunny ears onto his head.

“Nein,” Prussia repeated, dodging the attempt and swatting the ears away. “I am not putting them on. They look ridiculous.”

“Do they look _that_ terrible on me?” The smaller male asked with an apparent frown and _oh no, no, no_. He hated seeing Japan frown.

“They look perfect on you! You look too cute for your own good Japan. But—”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Prussia-kun.” Japan said with a deadpan stare.

“Well, it got me you at some point! Kesesese.” The albino said triumphantly grinning.

Japan pouted, his kitty ears slightly drooping. How they did that, Prussia had no clue. It was sort of freaky. Why was Japan being so annoyingly persistent though? Had he taken lessons from America? Japan found Prussia's behavior _unacceptable._

“I’m afraid I have no ingredients for the cakes today by the way.” Japan sat on the matt, crossing his arms speaking nonchalantly.

“Don’t be difficult,” Prussia said, furrowing his eyebrows in disbelief. “Y-You’re just saying that to get back at me!”

“I do not understand why Prussia-kun is the one being difficult,” Japan replied, face turned away.

Prussia sighed and sat next to Japan. He leaned over, but the smaller male moved away. Prussia sighed and picked up the bunny ears, placing them on his head with no second thoughts. Part of it was to please his lover, another part to please his sweet tooth because he wanted cakes and knew Japan was simply pulling his leg. It wasn’t his fault Japan knew his weaknesses. He blamed it on how devious the other could be. Damn him for being cute!

“Japan, look.” Prussia posed with the bunny ears. His face heated but looking ever so awesome anyway.

Japan glanced at Prussia and his frown turned into a smile. He then hugged Prussia.

“Thank you…” Japan said, nuzzling his face to Prussia’s. “They look great on you Prussia-kun.”

“Of course they do,” Prussia said with a small blush appearing on his cheeks as he laughed.

When Japan would be the one to initiate affectionate gestures it would always catch Prussia by surprise, but he loved it nonetheless. He felt his ears being lightly pulled as Japan was simply mesmerized.

“Oi, you seem more interested in these things than me.” Prussia said clearly feeling offended.

Japan smiled. “I apologize, but they truly do suit you.”

The albino huffed, not saying another word when he figured it was his turn to focus on his beloved cat. Maybe Japan did have some sort of weird kink.

He lightly pushed the other down on the matt as he leaned over a wide eyed Japan.

“—Prussia-kun?”

“I just like looking at you like this. Those cat ears suit you too.” Prussia said as he ran his fingers through the dark strands of hair that tickled his skin. Japan closed his eyes shut, letting the feeling of the other's fingers in his hair make him shudder.

He smiled as he leaned down to kiss Japan’s forehead.

“That’s not fair…,” Japan said softly as he turned his head to the side and opened his eyes.

“Oh really? Why not? You got what you wanted. I’m all yours, bunny ears and all.” Prussia said smirking.

“Is that so?” And then Japan pulled the rest of Prussia’s body to the floor with him, arms wrapped around his waist.

The albino was completely taken back, liking the flow of things. Japan was really catching him off guard today. He supposed indoors the Japanese was truly more comfortable. It made him smile. And then a bright flash appeared.

“Ugh…right in my eyes, warn me next time ja?”

“Sorry, I had to. Prussia-kun was making a wonderful expression.” Japan said with a confident smile.

“You really know how to abuse my awesomeness…”

Japan pulled Prussia towards him again as their lips were instantly connected this time. Prussia smiled into the kiss, stomach knotting. Both their eyes closed, and they melted into their kiss as they relished the feeling. Their breaths syncing with one another, their noses bumping, and such warm heat emitting off them both, Japan ran his hands up the albino’s face and then—of course he’d take a feel of those _damn_ ears. Wait, was Prussia seriously getting jealous over the dumb bunny ears? Prussia grumbled into the kiss as Japan chuckled in response. The vibration tickling their throats. They eventually parted from the kiss only to stare at one another.

Prussia ran his hand onto Japan’s cheek. Such soft and tender porcelain skin, he couldn’t keep his eyes away and a clicking sound broke the silence.

“Mein gott Japan how many have you taken?! Don’t tell me you’re using your phone now too.”

He leaned his forehead against Japan’s. The Japanese simply nodded.

“So those pictures you snuck of me… I think I _definitely_ deserve cakes after that.”

“Hai bunny-kun, you do and the tea is ready as well.”

The Japanese said as he put his phone away. Prussia cringed at the nickname but who cared right? He was getting his delicious cakes! Prussia leaned off his lover as Japan got up to walk towards the kitchen.

“You posted the pictures online didn’t you?” He asked already knowing the answer.

“Hai, that I did.” Japan said with his back turned.

_‘On hiatus my Arsch!’_ he thought.

And not even five minutes passed until he received a phone call from Hungary and Italy on the line telling him how adorable he looked and what exactly were he and Japan doing that he was on top of said Japanese nation. Oddly enough, it eventually started some sort of trend because Hungary ended up getting herself a pair and forcing them onto Austria. Italy did the same with Germany and well, eventually America grabbed a pair. Greece already had a stock of them even before Japan posted pictures of Prussia with the ears. It was like some sort of domino effect. Sometimes Prussia couldn’t help but wonder if Japan was a mastermind under those soft adorable features of his. Seriously, screw the animal ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prussia + bunny ears = all I want in life
> 
> Japan with kitty ears is a blessing. 
> 
> These prompts are really freakin' random. Lol.


	11. Day 11 - Wearing Kigurumis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like what was this chapter even???? I just winged it okay? So if it doesn't really focus on the actual theme give me a break. Some of these things are foreign to me LOL. Onto torturing Gilbert! I mean, onto the story. 
> 
> I mean for the most part Kiku is a weirdo so I'd need to find something else to embarrass him with *throws Gilbert at him* k there we go.
> 
> Oh right and Abel = Netherlands

“So why the hell am I doing this again?” Gilbert frowned as he furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

“You shouldn’t ever make bets when you’re drinking, Gilbert. You get over confident and my goodness you’re a terrible liar!” Elizabeta said giggling as she held the other male still to apply some black cat whiskers and color his nose in.

“W-What the?! Oi, Lizzie you’re going overboard!” As Gilbert was about to smudge off the makeup Elizabeta slapped his hand away.

“Shush! Stay still! You lost and this was our deal!” She scolded.

The albino sighed in defeat. “Ja… sure.”

“Great, almost done here!” She smiled. “So… why didn’t you tell him? You were looking pretty confident a few nights ago.”

Gilbert sighed again, but it was more of a mopey sigh.

“Well… things just kept going _wrong_.”

The green eyed brunette raised an eyebrow as she stopped applying his makeup. “Who or _what_ got in your way?”

“Too many people. And well—I—when I did get him alone, I didn’t find the right words.”

Elizabeta hummed in response, as if telling him to go on.

“I'm certain I told him if he wanted to go out. Then he asked where to. So I told him the arcade if he wanted since I know he loves games and I do too.”

The Hungarian female cringed. “ _Gilbert_ _Beilschmidt,_ that sounds like a typical every day outing… _”_

“Ja, so?”

She facepalmed. “Oh goodness you’re hopeless! No wonder he had no clue! And I bet your other attempts were terrible too!”

“What did I do woman!?”

“Well from what you’re telling me, nothing!”

He frowned again. “Well, I gave up on that anyway, but you didn’t even let me tell you the rest!”

“Go on then, I’m listening.”

“So the first time Feli-chan came by and asked for Kiku.”

* * *

_Gilbert had finally gotten Kiku alone, this was it, he was going to do it!_

_“So…Kiku. Um… uh…” The albino couldn’t look him in the eyes at all._

_Kiku was simply baffled at the sudden bashful nature of the usually loud Gilbert._

_“Yes Gilbert-kun?”_

_“So…I was wondering… I’ve been wanting to tell you… you know, I’ve got this friend who is having trouble telling someone they want to date them because of their good friendship.”_

_Kiku’s eyes widened. “Is that so?”_

_“Ja…”_

_“And what might I be able to assist with?” Kiku kept looking at the albino wanting to make eye contact but the other was too flustered looking to the side._

_“Well, what would be a good conversation starter?”_

_“Gilbert-kun.” Kiku smiled after saying his friend’s name. “Please look at me. I feel odd speaking to you when you’re looking away.”_

_“Hm? Oh, sorry.” Gilbert looked back at his friend faintly smiling._

_“I believe this person should simply be honest and not come on too strong. If they have feelings for a good friend then I’m sure the other would understand. If they don’t give it a chance then they will probably regret it and continue to wonder about the what ifs…”_

_Gilbert mused. That was actually insightful advice to him._

_“Hm…well…good point.” Gilbert leaned closer to the Japanese. “Anyway, I-I think…I mean… Want to go out to the arcade tomorrow with me?”_

_Kiku smiled again. "Of course."_

_Gilbert smiled in return, getting his hopes up. "Alright, so just to make this clear, it's a da _—_ "_

_And before he finished he got interrupted..._

_“Ve~ Sorry sorry! I don’t mean to interrupt but I really need your help Kiku!” Feliciano said frantically pulling Kiku away.  
_

_Both males quickly broke apart from their deep concentration and Gilbert felt his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He hadn't realized how much closer he got to the other but now he was being taken away.  
_

_“What is it Feliciano-kun?” The Japanese's tone sounding concerned.  
_

_In truth Kiku was very curious as to what Gilbert was going to say after inviting him out…along with the topic about his friend with the love troubles, maybe he’d ask him afterward and he did, but Gilbert ended up changing the subject dismissing it as foolish thing. He then cancelled his plans to the arcade while ruffling the shorter male’s hair playfully, deciding it wasn't best because he hadn't seen an appropriate reaction to his request._

* * *

 

“It was something about Lutz being too stressed out. I was still too shocked to even pay real attention.”

Elizabeta simply blinked. “That’s it?”

“Nein… there was another time… it was Alfred.” The albino sighed.

* * *

_“How did it go with your friend and their love troubles?” Kiku asked as they walked down the empty halls of their dorm building._

_“Eh?” Gilbert stopped in his tracks. “Oh. He decided not to do it. He figured it wasn’t the right time.”_

_Kiku stood beside his friend with a frown. “Mmm…sometimes it is not wise to wait so long. Things cannot always go as planned…”_

_Gilbert frowned this time. “I know, but I’m—I mean they are scared and there is always someone around.”_

_“Gilbert-kun, may I ask who this friend is?” Kiku looked at him with curious eyes as he tilted his head._

_The albino couldn’t help but want to melt at the sight. Kiku was too cute when he got curious. He sighed. Gilbert felt ridiculous. It was now or never._

_“It’s yo—”_

_And then both Gilbert and Kiku’s shoulders had arms around them._

_“YO Gil! Hey Keeks! You guys wanna go get burgers at the new joint that opened? I’ll drive!”_

_Gilbert was honestly starting to think he was just unfortunate as he grumbled. Kiku sighed, wondering when he’d find out what this was all about._

_“Sure, Alfred-san.” The Japanese responded ever so politely.  
_

_“Whoa, Gil, you alright? You look pale.” Alfred said waving a hand at his face.  
_

_Gilbert let out a heavy sigh. “I am naturally pale.” He said with an unamused look._

_“I know but you look worse man. You gotta eat, let’s goo!”_

* * *

 

“Oh goodness.” Elizabeta pouted. “But surely you were fine after?”

Gilbert strained a smile. “Nein. Then Hercules and that one guy from the Netherlands—uh, Abel or whatever interrupted.”

“Ohhh, you don't seem to fond of him. And both of them on the same day?!” The Hungarian woman said, getting more and more intrigued. 

* * *

 

_“Gilbert-kun, whatever the reason you do not wish to tell me about your friend, I will respect your decision and pester you no longer. I simply hope it went well or goes well for them.” Kiku said with a light smile._

_Gilbert was honestly frustrated because each day someone would interrupt the only times he had alone with the Japanese to talk. Maybe today would be different._

_“Danke, Kiku… But see, I think I can tell you now.” Gilbert closed the space between them as he leaned his forehead forward but was met with something very soft…well he always imagined Kiku’s skin to be soft but this was more of a fuzzy, furry, sort of soft?_

_“What the—” Gilbert opened his eyes to a random cat being held in front of his face as it licked his forehead. “OH MEIN GOTT WHY is there a CAT?”_

_“Sorry. I came to talk with Kiku for a bit. It’s important.” He withdrew the furry feline and turned to the Japanese. “I wanted to ask if you’d like to bring Tama over to my apartment complex next time since I know they have a strict rule about pets here.”_

_Kiku nodded and listened as the Greek went on about what great hands Tama would be in. He wondered if Gilbert was leaning towards him before Hercules showed up? Maybe it was all in his head. But Gilbert’s look of discouragement didn’t make him feel any better._

_It wasn’t until later in the evening when both males were walking back to their dorm building that Gilbert decided to do it for sure, no holding back, no dumb hinting. He wasn’t like this at all! When he felt something, he made sure to speak loud and clear! After all he always encouraged the other to do the same. They finally made it to the entrance of the other’s room._

_“Kiku…you’re not with anyone right?” He said as he leaned a little too close towards the Japanese._

_They were against the wall right outside Kiku’s dorm room and it was getting late, but he just had to tell him. The Japanese found himself feeling a bit more tense which was odd because this was Gilbert, but the other looked beyond nervous, looked like he could crack at any moment, but why?_

_“No, but why the question Gilbert-kun?” The smaller male asked.  
_

_“Well, I really like you Kiku.” He said as his heart felt like it stopped dead in its tracks. He actually said it. He said it._

_“I like you too, Gilbert-kun.” The Japanese said smiling._

_Something wasn’t right. Kiku had said that too easily and Gilbert felt like repeating what he said._

_“Nein, I don’t think you understand…”_

_Gilbert cautiously reached for Kiku’s hand and intertwined his fingers with the other. The Japanese squealed in surprise and pulled his hand away blushing madly. Before Gilbert could properly explain he felt a murderous aura nearby when he was pushed away._

_“What the—”_

_“I came here to ask you something, but instead I find this idiot bothering you. Are you alright Kiku? Do you need me to give him a lesson? He didn’t do anything inappropriate did he?”  
_

_Gilbert had no clue why the heck this was happening to him. He told Kiku he liked him and then Abel, that tall masculine looking Dutch guy had to come along and—_

_“Gilbert, stop being a nuisance to Kiku.” He said bluntly.  
_

_The albino growled. “You came out of nowhere and just misunderstood you_ _Dummkopf.”_

_Both males had a glaring contest until Kiku regained his focus. He did not want any unnecessary conflict between his friends.  
_

_“Abel-san…please stop. Gilbert-kun is right. You are misunderstanding.” The Japanese said raising his voice._

_Both of them looked at the smaller male in a bit of shock but withdrew. The Dutchman sighed in defeat as Kiku sighed in relief seeing both their faces slightly relaxed. Gilbert wondered why Abel was always so protective of him the rest of that night._

* * *

 

“I still can’t believe he got in between us and the Arsch glared at me afterward like I was the one in the wrong!” He let out a heavy exhale. “Mein gott, I know he did that on purpose.”

Elizabeta simply blinked a few times still wide eyed from hearing the number of inconveniences her friend had during his moments of confessions. Then she just laughed. She let out a loud series of laughter.

“Laughing at the awesome’s me misfortune are you? What a lovely friend you are.”

She let out a few coughs to calm herself down. “Sorry Gilbert, just wow you have _bad_ luck. The fact this happened to you all day! Oh you poor soul, lady luck wasn’t on your side. And then to have an ex-boyfriend of Kiku’s show up to interrupt your confession.”

Gilbert gaped. “Ex-boyfriend? Wha—wait wait, he never talked about—”

When Gilbert really thought about it, the Japanese never did speak about his past. All he knew was about his adoptive family. Then again he wasn’t all that open either, and yet they were such great friends. How odd…he felt pretty jealous at the fact other people knew him before he even got to meet Kiku.

“I’m just assuming Gilbert. Abel sounds like an ex-boyfriend.” The green eyed brunette giggled.

“Whatever. So can I get this over with already? I've been yapping away.” The albino said quite annoyed at the situation.

Elizabeta leaned away to stare at her friend. “Yeah, it’s perfect! And your kigurumi goes so well! Keep the tail on!”

The albino lightly blushed from embarrassment but cringed at the outfit. “Uh yeah, sure… I just don’t want Kiku to see me like this.”

“Aw why not? He’d be delighted. He loves those cute costume things!” Elizabeta said with joy.

And as Gilbert stepped out of the room there was a sudden flash of a camera. It was none other than Kiku, happily snapping photos of him at the speed of light. Gilbert thought he’d go blind.

“What the heck is this, a photo shoot? Kiku! Stop!” The albino said covering his eyes. “Why are you even here!”

“Oh, was this supposed to be a secret? I invited him. Sorry.” Roderich said nonchalantly as he sat cross-legged on the couch.

Gilbert simply gave the Austrian a death glare. He was beyond embarrassed. He didn’t want his soon to be lover to see him like that!

“Gomen…you look great Gilbert-kun.” The Japanese said as he walked up to the albino and started petting his head.

It felt oddly comforting that the other found himself purring in delight. In truth, the petting on his head was actually something he was very fond of.

The Austrian snorted. “He’s even acting like a cat now. Elizabeta I think your make up is working wonders for him.”

“OI! Shut it!” Gilbert growled.

The Hungarian female found herself giggling at the sight of Gilbert in a giant black and white cat costume, but really the small red bow tie with the whiskers and painted nose were too cute to pass up. “If they get together right now, I’m going to make Gilbert owe me.”

“He’d probably curse you. He looks like a fool.” 

The female lightly smacked Roderich’s chest. 

Kiku was still entranced by the loose fitting outfit and oh my, he even had a nice tail to go with the costume. In truth, the Japanese wasn’t really as into kigurumis, but the albino honestly looked beyond cuddly and he couldn’t help but continue petting him. He was like a giant feline. 

“The whiskers and nose go great with your kigurumi too.” Kiku said faintly smiling.

And before Gilbert knew it, he grew comfortable enough to pose for the other. The Japanese couldn’t stop laughing as he saw the albino gain his confidence strutting along in the outfit. It was a while until Kiku finally decided to stop snapping photos and went to go talk to Elizabeta whom he figured orchestrated the whole thing.

"He lost a nice bet." The female said smugly. "So he's all yours for the rest of the day like that."

 

“So that’s why Gilbert-kun kept wanting to be alone… And he kept looking extremely uncomfortable… And the type of _like_ he meant—Ah—it makes sense now. How silly of me.” With the realization hitting him, Kiku got red.

“The fact he’d go through with all of this and wearing the kigurumi is adorable enough, Kiku~” The green eyed female swooned. "He really likes you!"

“I was going to tell him I wanted to take our friendship a step further too, actually. But he confused me when he spoke of another friend.” Kiku said shaking his head. “And Elizabeta-san…next time he loses a bet would you be so kind to inform me of it too?”

“Ohohoho~ Is there something you’d like to request? You’re pretty naughty!” The Hungarian said patting the other’s back.

Meanwhile across the room, Gilbert was annoyed at Roderich, as usual.

“OI SPECS why you laughing!?” Gilbert said as he put his hand at his hips leaning forward to glare at the Austrian calmly sipping his coffee.

“Please refrain from getting too close." He pushed the other away. "You look ridiculous. I’m simply enjoying the scene. You’re lucky Kiku even accepted you with that outfit. Please never put it on ever again.”

“Tell that to your _odd_ ball of a wife. She has some weird kinks!” The albino said.

Gilbert Beilschmidt never did learn his lesson of not betting with Elizabeta during drinking, but at least Kiku got the luxury of picking the next form of entertainment. After all, he had a reputation of paparazzi to keep! Gilbert didn’t have to know that Kiku already had a good amount of personal photos of him for himself. Maybe a little later into the relationship he’d find out, but for now it was his nice little secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Sweats and looks around nervously* What? Who ships Nedpan? Huh? IDK who you're talking about. 
> 
> So yeah, I'm going to try to be on a writing binge this weekend because what the actual hell English fandom. I am highly disappointed at so many fics I've read with other Japan ships hinting prupan but it's always that painful sort of relationship (and not the good kind, I mean the stupid kind no offense). I know they are angsty but Gilbert and Kiku wouldn't betray one another and would the majority of you guys stop picking on Gilbert by making the prupan one sided? MY HEART. Oh and don't make HIM an asshole KTHX. (nah you can do what you like I just don't like it trolololol or agree with it.) 
> 
> So I'm here to remedy my poor shipper heart and give these two love the best I can.
> 
> (And if you're wondering if I even write angst for these two since I'm a fluffy fluff ball, hell yeah I do I just am not posting BYE)


	12. Day 12 - Making Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MAKING OUT? Like for real. This can't get ANY cheesier. Here you go. 
> 
> P.S. I apologize for any typos. My eyes suck.

Germany, Italy, and Prussia had come over to visit Japan for a calm relaxing evening. What Japan hadn’t expected was for him to have an almost empty fridge. He supposed maybe he really was getting old, with what? His aching back and now his memory? How could he have forgotten to restock on food. Shame on him. He bowed and apologized multiple times.

“Ve~ It’s okay Japan! Germany and I can go get some stuff and bring it back.”

“Yes, we can.” Germany turned to Prussia. “Bruder are you coming along?”

Prussia waved off the offer to both males.

“Nein, I’ll stay and keep Japan company.” He said grinning.

Germany shrugged it off and Italy hummed. As they both walked out of the Japanese’s home Italy smiled.

“You’re pretty happy today.” The German pointed out. “Although…you’re always happy…”

“Germany, don’t you think those two have something going on~?” Italy asked tilting his head.

“What?!” Germany stopped walking as Italy had to stop and look back at the man with his jaw wide open. “Nein, Italy. They are not. They have a professional relationship.”

“Oh Germany. I don’t remember them being really good friends at first but Prussia likes to come a lot more to see Japan than we do!”

Germany raised an eyebrow. “He teaches Japan about our culture.”

“Oh? I wonder…” Italy mused, but Germany decided to ignore the other’s comments and pulled him along to the store.

Back at Japan’s, things had happened too quick for the smaller male to process. How the heck had he gotten pushed down to the mat?

“P-Prussia-kun…Italy-kun and Germany-san will be back soon and I do not wish for them to find us being inappropriate.” The Japanese said, his eyes pleading.

“They won’t find us like _this_. It’ll take them a while to get back and we could hear them when they get back. Besides, not like we’re going to have sex.”

Japan frowned.

“What? You want to? I mean—”

He got smacked over the head after his response.

“Ow! What did I do!” He pouted.

“Prussia-kun, we are _not_ having sex.” Japan said sternly.

“I know! But you were the one talking about inappropriateness. I’m not being dirty! I am but an innocent man.”

Japan broke eye contact, side eying the other in disbelief.

“What?! At least look convinced. I am!” He defended.

Then, a sudden idea came to the Japanese. A mischievous smile appeared on his lips which happened to indeed catch Prussia off guard when their positions were abruptly flipped and the Japanese took control of the situation.

“Hai…Prussia-kun is indeed very _innocent_. It’s a shame that people misunderstand.” Japan purred into the other’s ear and Prussia felt himself shudder.

Japan was like a cat playing with his prey. Eyes glazed with sudden lust.

“When the heck did you get so seductive?” The albino said feeling himself blush.

The Japanese said nothing more as he connected his lips with the other. Prussia loved the feeling of Japan’s lips on his, the way the smaller male’s hands would cautiously explore him thoroughly, catching on his sensitive skin and sending tingles of pleasure. It was an amazing sensation that Prussia couldn’t get enough of. Since Japan had become his lover, which he couldn’t believe at first, but it happened. Despite them both being quite awkward at first, Prussia had discovered that there were endless ways to kiss. There was biting, licking and nibbling, grazing of teeth over flesh, and so many more combinations.

There was also the freedom of where exactly the person would choose to do so. It was almost Prussia’s favorite game, spending hours in bed and trying new things, finding what worked for Japan and what didn’t, most of the time it didn’t even lead to sex. The exploration was usually tame, nothing taken too far, but he would never deny making love with the Japanese. It was always special. Japan on the other hand was a bit better at finding Prussia’s spots quicker.

Prussia’s moans when Japan licked a stripe up his neck, tonguing the line of his jaw just below his ear while his hands were in the short thin silver strands of hair, would always be rewarding. Japan loved to touch, not just with his hands, but his mouth as well and Prussia felt worshipped. Then Japan had his hands under Prussia’s shirt, enjoying the feel of warm, soft pale skin as he let his fingers trail over the curves of muscle and bone as he went along the other’s body. Prussia knew Japan was slender, but had lean muscle. He knew that he was anything _but_ feminine, and he couldn’t take his eyes away from his beautiful partner.

Japan was propped up on his forearms above Prussia as he straddled the albino, shirt untucked and partially unbuttoned from the bottom up.  His uniform jacket was laid over the chair that belonged to Japan’s desk, and Japan, who was in the midst of ravishing the other’s mouth with single-minded determinism, had lost his own jacket to the floor during all of this.

The feel of the smaller male’s tongue as it explored the other’s mouth, the way that Japan’s teeth kept nipping at Prussia’s bottom lip, it was all more than Prussia could have imagined. He never thought he’d see the day he’d be locking lips with his close ally, with his ex-student, with his _lover_ , let alone intensely making out. The same soft spoken and extremely polite nation that hardly ever said _no_ and hardly spoke their mind. It was amazing how the other seemed to switch indoors and let pleasure and passion run its course.

Japan lifted one hand, compensating for the loss of support by leaning further down onto the albino’s chest, and Prussia tangled his fingers in Japan’s dark strands. The Japanese reacted to the touch by pressing even further down onto Prussia, practically molding their bodies together. The albino wrapped an arm around Japan’s slender waist in response.

He groaned into the raven haired male’s mouth, taking a moment to enjoy the sensation of mouth to mouth contact. Japan pulled his mouth away to lick and suck his way down Prussia’s neck. When he reached the collar of Prussia’s undershirt, he slowly traced its edge before working at the skin with lips and teeth, with a bit more pressure than usual. One thing Japan learned was that Prussia did indeed like a bit of pain. _A possible masochist?_ Maybe.

“I like you on top, we should do this more often…,” Prussia said in a husky voice. 

 The Japanese found a blush coming. 

“Eh? Getting shy already?” Prussia said playfully.  

Smiling, Japan softly chuckled. “Hai…talking during these moments make me realize what I’m doing…”

“Hmm, you’re silly,” Prussia grinned.

And they lost themselves in each other once more as Prussia inhaled deeply, relishing the scent of green tea, manjuu, and even something refreshing, almost resembling a cherry scent. Japan, having thoroughly ravished Prussia’s neck, reached his hands up to undo the three remaining buttons of Prussia’s shirt as it was taken off. When that was discarded he wrapped his arms around the albino’s torso, making himself comfortable, until Prussia decided it was his turn and rolled them over grinning down at the startled Japanese from his new position.

“You look so proud…,” Japan said with his expression ever so neutral, yet his voice having a hint of mockery to it.

Prussia licked his lips. “Why wouldn’t the awesome me be? I have _you_ after all.” 

And Japan wondered where Prussia learned to be a romantic sap, or if that just sort of came naturally to him. His heart was filled with warmth though as he smiled up at him with a small blush. “Prussia-kun says embarrassing things.”

“You know it.”

The albino took no time making his way down Japan’s neck. It was his turn to make the other twist and turn as he took his time licking and tasting the soft porcelain skin he desired. The Japanese did indeed squirm and lightly moan his name. It was like music to his ears, similar to playing his flute, though he wouldn’t tell Japan he was comparing him to an instrument. Knowing the other, he’d take it offensively, but on the contrary, it was the highest compliment. He loved to play music, and admire the lovely sounds he’d elicit. He continued his way to Japan’s chest, pulling the muscle shirt up as he went along. He barely missed lavishing Japan’s nipples, trailing kisses down to the Japanese’s naval instead, and then across to his sides where the skin was especially sensitive.

“Japan?” Prussia’s voice broke through Japan’s pleasured haze, and he looked up at the smaller male in question. “What are these?”

Japan bent his neck forward, looking to where his lover was indicating, and his expression turned much more serious, as he let his head fall back to hit the pillow.  

“You still have bruises?” Prussia moved up so that they were eye to eye. “It’s been a few years since the war....” He said sounding quite confused.

“They aren’t bruises, Prussia-kun.” Japan muttered, lowering his head. He continued, “W-Well, they aren’t bruises any more, I’d say more like _scars_.”

He sat up, shrugging his shirt off his shoulders, and then turned around and lied on his stomach, exposing his back.

“ _Mein gott_ ,” Prussia gasped. “That’s a lot.”

“I don’t deserve any hint of sympathy,” Japan said.  When Prussia’s eyes met his, full of compassion, he frowned. “America’s a bastard…”

“Prussia-kun, please don’t.”

He didn’t want to start a discussion over this trivial matter again. He didn’t want to play the blaming game.

The albino cautiously ran a hand down Japan’s side deciding to comply with the other’s request at letting it go. Japan’s gestures had said enough for him to understand.

“It’s disgusting, but it is something I have come to terms with keeping with me as a memory, as a reminder.”

“What?” Prussia exclaimed, almost breathlessly. “ _Nein._ It is not disgusting. And if that is what you wish then fine…but Japan—”

He didn’t know what else to say, he had no clue. He knew the war had left him with much more than physical scars. There was mental scarring. He knew, and it _hurt_. He thought everything would get better, and while it definitely was, he had scars of his own…scars he kept hidden as well. Scars that hadn’t healed, injuries that wouldn’t heal as well anymore but he managed to keep away.

“Thank you,” was all that Japan managed to whisper. 

“ _Ich liebe dich_ ,” Prussia said as he moved in close again and reached around with one hand, pulling Japan in for a kiss, sloppy and wonderful from the angle. When they parted, Japan settled back down on the pillow while Prussia rolled over beside Japan, his chest brushing against the smaller male’s arm.

Prussia dragged his fingers over the Japanese’s porcelain skin gently, slowly, fascinated by the multitude of colors.

“Do they still hurt?” he asked.

Japan shook his head.  “Not as much anymore. They are merely there as faint reminders.”

Prussia could almost see the pain that flared in Japan’s chest at his words, and then he decided to lean over him and place soft kisses over each scar and healed bruise.

Japan gasped beneath him, letting out a small moan.

“Feel good?” Prussia kissed him again, enjoying the feel of his lips playing over tender skin.  

“Mmhmm,” Japan hummed contently.

It wasn’t until there was a sudden loud gasp that took away from their intense focus on one another.

“ _BRUDER?!_ Japan?!” Germany’s jaw looked like it would come off at that moment.

“Why the heck did I get the exaggerated yell?” Prussia pouted still leaned over the other.

Japan immediately pushed him off as Prussia fell face first on the cushion. The Japanese struggled to get up and put on his jacket to cover up.

“Ve~ I knew they liked each other~” Italy said with a wide smile.

“This is much more than a simple _LIKE_ Italy.” Germany said with his hand against his forehead.

“Germany-san, Italy-kun, I can explain…” Japan said with struggle.

Why had he said that? That was one of the most cliché lines people used when they were in denial. He mentally slapped himself for that one.

“ _Nein_ Japan. You do not have to pretend. I just would have liked to know or have found out—err—another way.”

“You have so many love bites on your neck Japan!~ At least Prussia and you are having fun!” Italy said happily.

Japan profusely blushed and covered his neck with his hands while turning around to send a good glare the albino’s way.

“The cat was bound to get out of the bag.” Prussia said shrugging.

“Prussia-KUN.” Japan scolded.

“What? It’s the truth.” Prussia said as he got more comfortable on the mat. “It only took a good two wars for us?”

“ _Prussia-kun._ ” Japan’s cheeks tinted with red.

“What?”

“Please put your shirt back on.” The smaller male pleaded as he looked away.

“Yes bruder…please do. Thank you Japan.” Germany said as he put down the grocery bags by the nearby table.

The smaller Japanese male sighed and felt beyond embarrassed. He hadn’t wanted Italy, let alone _Germany_ to find out in _that_ matter. He stared at the albino accusingly. Almost like he was saying it was _definitely_ his fault.

“Oi oi, this isn’t _just_ my fault. You got pretty into it—OOF!” A pillow was thrown at his face by a blushing Japan.

Sometimes, Japan really did dislike how Prussia could read him perfectly well, and yet he still loved him, shameless and all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Japan being seductive every now and then hehe. I mean come on guys, people always think he's this super innocent child. NOPE. I KNOW MY FLOWER CHILD IS LIKE THE KING OF HENTAI. HAHA. Except I do see him as a shy lover at first, and then when he gets comfortable, well, have fun. As for the scars thing, I don't know... I've been writing scenes like that a lot. I'd imagine them both to have scars, some that never heal or in Japan's case, scars he won't let heal as a sort of punishment to himself, but of course I was not going to make this the main focus. I just kind of threw that in there. I've written a fic about that on my own covering that topic but bleh I'm rambling now. 
> 
> LATERS!~


	13. Day 13 - Eating Ice Cream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing a double post today since I really was on a roll. This honestly made me crave ice cream lol.

It was the middle of July, aka the summer, which so happened to be one of the hottest months in Germany and the scourging heat was upon them. Prussia just so happened to be showing Japan around that day. He had the grand idea of mentioning something about ice cream. He recently got into mochis back in Japan, he tried taking some back home but the temptation to eat them was too strong so that backfired. He loved the way the little rice cake balls of goodness would melt into his mouth and the ice cream flavor would linger in his tongue. How the mochi covering would evaporate and the coolness of the ice cream would travel down his throat satisfying his taste buds and stomach. Everything about it was refreshing and delicious, but sadly he was back in his country and he knew homemade was always the way to go. So he decided there would be a little cultural exchange and get some German ice cream while they were at it.

“It’s the best stuff, especially right now in this terrible heat.” Prussia said as he fanned himself with his hand.

For once he was dressed quite casual, which Japan was shocked at. No usual military uniform, but he supposed it was because they were out in public. After all, Japan was not wearing a yukata. He was also wearing something quite casual, a bit more _Western_ if he were to say so himself. By Western, he simply meant a plain t-shirt with pants.

“Prussia-kun, we didn’t have to go out today in this heat. I do not wish to trouble you—”

“Nonsense, what are you talking about? It was _my_ idea and besides, you let me taste those mochi things back at your place! It’s only fair you try our ice cream at least! And it’s my treat.” Prussia insisted as he grinned at the Japanese while they walked side by side.

Japan faintly smiled at the sentiment and nodded. He had forgotten why he had stayed over at Prussia’s this time. He would have said that it was for studying purposes but truth be told he had not studied at all for the past day. Prussia was keen on making him relax and practice his German here and there but no books. Every time Japan would sneak away to try to read something, the albino would catch him somehow and smack him over the head with a book. As mature and understanding of a teacher Prussia could be with him, Japan knew to not take him lightly and so he sighed in frustration but decided to _try_ to take his advice. He had come to rely on Prussia for knowledge and that was what he would do.

“So there’s this place I want to take you to. What kind of flavors do you like?”

Amazing how familiar and quick they were to get along after their time spent together studying. Japan really needed to stop spacing out in his own mind though.

“Oi—Japan?” Prussia waved a hand in front of the Japanese as they continued walking.

“Ah…gomen. I did not hear you.” Japan admitted embarrassingly.

“Ja. I could tell. That would have hurt my feelings but—what’s up?” The albino said with a hint of concern on his face.

The shorter male shook his head. “Nothing. I was just thinking of how our friendship has come along.”

Prussia blinked a few times. “Oh. Really? Well I think it’s going just fine. You’re pretty easy to talk to.”

“Likewise.” Japan agreed.

“And you’re a hard worker. You’re not a lazy person or else I wouldn’t like you. And truthfully, I admire people like you.” Prussia laughed as he playfully smacked Japan’s back. “So as I was asking before you tuned me out.”

Japan frowned at that comment.

“What flavor of ice cream do you like?”

“I like any kind to be honest.” Japan said with his same neutral expression.

Prussia sighed. “Well you’re no fun. What’s a flavor you’re craving?”

Japan wasn’t exactly sure on what to say. It was true though, he really did like any flavor. He wasn’t picky with food, let alone desserts. He figured he’d go with the typical flavor he loved back home.

“I’ll go with Matcha.”

Prussia blinked a few times as he processed what that meant. “Oh, green tea? Alright, we have that around here too.”

They had arrived at their destination which so happened to be an ice cream parlor. Prussia had told Japan to find a table to sit at while he ordered for them and brought back the ice creams. Japan watched the other quite amused at how enthusiastic he got once he walked in through the door. Prussia truly was a child at heart and he found that endearing. While he knew Prussia was strict, loud, and blunt, he also knew that the albino was thoughtful, mature, and quite studious. It was admirable, really. Japan wondered what flavor he’d get. When he heard the albino say _bitte,_ and _danke_ to the person at the register, he figured he’d be back with the ice creams shortly.

“Alright, here you go.” Prussia handed the cup full of green tea flavored ice cream to the Japanese.

“Thank you, Prussia-kun.”

“No problem.” The albino sat across from Japan grinning happily as he took a scoop off his own cup and ate away.

Japan watched his face light up. _An adorable child indeed_. Wait, he just called his teacher adorable and compared him to a child… How did that even make sense?

“Hm? Is it not good? You’re not taking bites.” Prussia said with another hint of concern.

“No! It’s quite delicious. I am just a slow eater.” Japan took another small scoop and put it in his mouth. “So Prussia-kun likes chocolate?”

“I was in the mood for it. I usually get strawberry, cherry, or even vanilla, but I felt like eating chocolate this time. They also have lots of good crème flavors.”

“The chocolate suits you perfectly.” The Japanese said.

Prussia stared at the other in suspicion. “You know, you’ve been looking over at me a lot but—”

Japan’s eyes widened when the albino leaned over the table to wipe some ice cream off the corner of his lip.

“P-Prussia-kun?” The smaller male froze in place trying to process what the heck that was.

Prussia licked his own finger. “What? You had some ice cream there and I wanted to just taste. Nothing wrong with that, but I couldn’t really taste it well enough. Mind if I take a scoop?” He smiled mischievously.

Was Prussia flirting with him? Japan never knew the albino was capable of that or maybe he was just unaware of the mixed messages. No, Prussia was just a very bold person. He was obviously comfortable with him and completely unaware. Yes that’s what it was. That was what Japan had to keep reminding himself of.

“I do not mind. Go ahead Prussia-kun.” Japan said as he ignored his thoughts.

“Want some of mine?” He asked. “It’s only fair.”

Japan nodded and they exchanged flavors in a single scoop.

“Oi, this stuff’s great! No wonder you like it so much.” He said as he licked his spoon.

Japan found himself needlessly staring. So, as cute as Prussia looked when he first got ice cream, the way he ate it was another story. Japan tore his gaze away and continued taking bites out of his own cup full of ice cream.

“Your ice cream is very rich in flavor. It’s delicious, even the addition of nuts.”

Prussia smiled. “Right? Nuts with chocolate are the best!”

They continued eating out of their ice cream cups as Japan forced himself not to really look at the other. The albino raised an eyebrow. Something was definitely going on with his Japanese friend. He wondered why Japan had suddenly become very self conscious. He sensed it when he came back with the ice cream.

“You sure everything’s alright?” He asked once more.

The raven haired male looked over. “Everything is fine. I believe I am just home sick.”

Prussia pouted. Why did he feel like that was a lie? Japan had been around him pretty often since they first started became teacher and student. Maybe it wasn’t but he did the only thing that came to mind and he leaned over once more setting his ice cream aside to ruffle the other’s hair playfully.

“Prussia-kun! Please stop!” The Japanese pleaded.

“Kesesese! I just like to ruffle your hair when you start being silly.”

Japan grabbed onto the other’s hand to stop the ruffling. “I am not a child.” He said sternly.

The albino looked at Japan straight in the eyes. “I know you’re not. Is it so wrong to just try and lighten the mood? Besides you make funny expressions. I like when you react. It shows your true nature.”

Japan’s eyes went wide. He never did consider it like that. The fact Prussia even thought about those things too. What he hadn’t realized was that he was still holding onto the other’s hand quite firmly and then—

“Ve~ Germany! Look! Prussia and Japan are on a date~ Japan’s even holding his hand!” Italy said with one of the happiest expressions either of them had ever seen.

Both males turned around in horror as Japan immediately let go of the other’s hand. Germany heavily sighed. He had no clue what to even think and knew Italy liked jumping to conclusions.

“Bruder? Japan?”

Prussia sat back down in his seat. “Hey West, Italy-chan. What are you guys doing here?”

“We decided to come get ice cream since it’s so hot!” Italy replied.

Prussia raised an eyebrow. “In Berlin?”

“Yes, we were coming to see you.” Germany responded.

“Oh? I’m honored.” He took another bite out of his ice cream as his lips curved into a content smile.

“Ne~ Germany let’s go get in line!” Italy tugged at the other’s sleeve as he walked off to the line.

“You should come join us after West.” Prussia said grinning at his brother who was being called away.

“Ja, will do, if you and Japan do not mind.” Germany replied looking over to the smaller male.

Japan had been silent the whole time but snapped out of his reverie. “Of course not Germany-san. Gomen, that was rude of me to not say anything.”

“Nein it’s fine Japan. Italy can be rude at times… So you two are not…?” He asked looking over at Prussia.

“Huh?” Prussia raised an eyebrow. “You mean on a date?”

“Germany-san,” Japan interrupted. “I assure you we are not. Prussia-kun merely wanted to let me eat German ice cream. It was an innocent gesture.”

Germany looked a bit surprised at the sudden defensiveness but shrugged it off.

“Well, I’m off to go make line. We’ll be back.”

When Germany left Prussia looked over at the Japanese. “Japan, are you embarrassed?”

“No…”

“Hmm you’re not? So if the awesome me said this was a date…”

Japan gave Prussia a deadpan stare. “I would _not_ believe you. You are my teacher and a male at that Prussia-kun. Please do not play with me.”

“My intention wasn’t to play with you. And who gives a Scheiße if I'm a guy. I've been around nothing but guys it's ridiculous." He said as he leaned his cheek into his hand.

The Japanese had been left speechless.

"Sorry, but I do know I’d like to show you around more places.” He grinned.

Japan was really starting to like Prussia’s smiles, even the mischievous ones. When Japan had gotten defensive and told him to not play with his emotions, the albino had to admit he felt a hint of hurt. He actually wasn’t playing with Japan, but then again he didn’t want to date him, well—he hadn’t ever given that a thought. _Great_ , now he was thinking of the possibilities.

“Prussia-kun? Are you alright?” Japan asked with a look of concern when he noticed the other’s expression straining.

“Ugh…ja…” He put his hands over his head.

“Did the ice cream not do you well?”

“Nein nein, it isn’t that.” Prussia waved it off.

So maybe Italy had opened Pandora’s box for him because he realized how conscious he was becoming around Japan for the rest of the day and he thought back to when he wiped off that ice cream off the smaller male’s lips and licked it off his own finger. He blushed furiously thinking of how idiotic he was! Who did that? Whether or not he’d even admit it was anything but thinking his friend, his student, was highly adorable, well he still had plenty of time to figure it out.

“Italy, I think you made things much more awkward for my bruder and Japan.” He whispered to his Italian ally next to him.

“What makes you say that Germany?”

“Well, now they won’t even look at each other—or at least my bruder doesn’t look as calm as he did before we came back.”

“It just means I made them think about it! Ve~ they’ll figure it out! If they really didn’t care they’d be fine!”

Germany sighed because he really couldn’t ever understand what went through Italy’s head.

“It’s like they’re playing the shy game with each other. It’s cute.”

Yeah, Germany definitely would never understand. Not to mention his older brother acting like that was… _new._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to kotoritoshio13 for suggesting the flavors I used in this chapter because I honestly was just thinking of my favorite flavors haha! I like the idea of chocolate for Prussia as well~ He's a kid at heart come on! Hehe. But yeah, I'm sure both of them aren't picky with their flavors. Ice cream is yummy.


	14. Day 14 - Genderswapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I decided to just make this Sakura(Kiku)/Julia(Gilbert) because I FUCKING LOVE THEM?? So there won’t be any weird like “Oh what? You’re a girl now? How did this happen?” sort of thing. OH and I really am not an OC person so just very brief moments of random people dialogue and what not. And this will include one other gender bent person which is Alice aka Arthur Kirkland’s female counterpart.

There they were again, same time, same place, and same victim. What was it now? Day three? She really was getting tired of the same old scene. Why were the guys at her school such sorry excuses? She walked up to her slightly crowded locker and let out a deep exhale at the scenario.

“Oi, you losers, _scram_. I’m trying to get into my locker and I can’t with you guys all over it and this girl here looks terrified enough.” The long haired female albino glared at the two males who were cornering a smaller short haired Japanese female in the same mandatory blue school girl uniform she wore.

She had seen the dark haired girl around since they got back into the new semester but she had never thought of talking to her. She looked too reserved and way too timid, but she supposed those low lives found that crowding around _her_ own locker was fun. At least it was two of them this time.

“Huh?” One of the guys looked over and suddenly went pale. “Oh _shit_.”

“What? You look terrified. Who is this witch?” The other guy said raising an eyebrow as he eyed the albino.

The smaller Japanese female simply gaped at the scene when one of the guys let her go. That albino had a sudden wild look to her, her long strands of hair reaching down to her lower back. Sakura thought she was a rare sight. She had never come across someone like that. She didn’t know if she should have been terrified or grateful because she was helping her despite not even knowing her?

And said guy turned around to look at his companion but realized he had really run off on him. The guy who was left alone was quickly pinned to the locker as the female albino slammed her fist an inch away from his face while tightly gripping his other shoulder and pushing him against the lockers again. Her crimson red eyes pierced into the other. The guy felt like he would have pissed his pants at any minute, such a terrifying gaze.

“It’s been a really _crappy_ morning for me, and let me tell you, I don’t mind saying this was self defense either. You know how that works around here.” She said confidently as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She leaned away and gazed down at the male.

Julia Beilschmidt, that was her name, and she didn’t exactly have the _nicest_ reputation in school. People feared her, not because she did terrible things, but simply out of fear of the unknown. Her strong and blunt nature also seemed to scare people off most of the time as they simply misunderstood her. She had a few good friends for the most part and was especially overprotective of her younger brother Ludwig. He was the start of her reputation around school. She wasn’t sure why people thought they could mess with Ludwig, he knew how to take care of himself as well, but of course she wouldn’t let anything get to her younger brother on her watch.

The male she had threatened ran off before she could even ask him to speak up.

“Wow, what a sausage.” She blinked. “I thought he would have at least talked back or tried fighting back. That’s what they usually do.”

“Um, thank you very much.” The Japanese interrupted timidly.

“Hm? Oh yeah no problem I guess. They were crowding my locker…Uh, you new around here?” The albino scratched her head sheepishly.

“Yes, I am.”

“You got a name? My name’s Julia Beilschmidt.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry! My name is Sakura Honda.” The Japanese lightly bowed her head.

Julia blinked a bit more. “That bowing thing—”

“Ah! Gomen! It’s hard to not bow...”

Julia let out muffled laughter. “It’s fine! I don’t care. You're pretty traditional huh? And you can let out some of your language if you’d like. I do that too from time to time.” She rested her hand on her hip. “So are you going to let me open my locker?”

“Oh, yes! Gomen!” Sakura stepped aside. “Excuse me for asking but you know some Japanese?” She asked curiously.

“Sort of—not all that well, err—well I just read a lot. And you don’t have to apologize every single time ja?”

Sakura looked amazed. She wondered what type of person Julia really was. She had noticed a light scar on her cheek. She must have had a story for that one. This was probably her first acquaintance since coming to the new campus. Well, this girl seemed very nice despite her intimidating looks. As Julia unlocked and opened her locker to get her things she peeked over at Sakura.

“You have a locker of your own right?”

Sakura faintly smiled. “Hai… My locker happens to be next to yours.”

“Oh, cool.” She slammed her locker shut.

The Japanese female looked at the combination on a crumpled paper she had received and opened it to put some of the new books she got. When she closed her locker she had suspected that Julia had already left but found the girl still waiting as she leaned against the locker.

“You have German next right?”

“I do.”

“I’ll walk you. I happen to have that class too, just stick to me alright?” She grinned.

“Thank you.” Sakura faintly smiled in response.

They walked to their next classroom and Julia insisted she sit next to her so Sakura did. The class itself wasn’t all that terrible. She made sure to read and go over the material thoroughly. Julia would help her polish up on her speech whenever she was stuck. 

* * *

 

As the weeks flew by, Julia decided to just hang around Sakura. It was oddly easy to get to know her and even talk to her. Truthfully, it was harder talking to girls than guys, but finding female friends was always a bonus. She quickly became protective of the smaller female, being a new student and all, and maybe she just wanted to keep the low lives away. Sakura found that side of Julia pretty endearing. She had never met someone who came on so headstrong with her emotions, but she admired it. They were an interesting pair. While Julia was quite wild, playfully loud, and perceptive when she wanted to be, Sakura was soft spoken, reserved, and understanding. They were both quite studious people though and would help one another. It was a nice balance in which they adjusted to.

During the third week, the Japanese had also made another friend in the class, who happened to be English. The girl’s name was Alice and she seemed— _proper_ , Julia couldn’t think of another word. She had tried to become friends with her but she really couldn’t hold up a normal conversation for more than a minute or two. It always felt like Alice patronized her. And it definitely ticked her off to see Sakura and her getting along quite well.

“Sakura, if you’d like we could have tea at my place after school and go over that paper.” The green eyed blond with long pigtails said as she adjusted her glasses.

“That sounds lovely—”

“Whoops, sorry! How rude of me to not introduce you guys! Hey Alice, I see you’ve met _my_ friend Sakura.” Julia interrupted the conversation with a light smile.

“ _Your_ friend? Well, I never knew. You’re both quite _different_ if you ask me.” Alice said with an unamused look.

“Oh, you two knew each other?” Sakura slightly tilted her head.

“Yes.”

“Ja.”

There was an awkward silence and Sakura wondered what the heck happened. She hadn’t really noticed either of them interacting in class but they had spoken to her separately.

“I doubt Sakura needs your permission to come over to my place any way.” The blond said.

Julia furrowed her eyebrows. “Nein she does not but—”

“Would you like to come and study with us then, Julia-san? That is if Alice-san doesn’t mind. I didn’t mean to just suggest without asking, gomen…” Sakura said as she ducked her head, quickly regretting herself butting in but she felt the strange tension between them.

Alice and Sakura’s eyes widened. The green eyed blond sighed in defeat.

“No. I don’t mind. Meet me at the gate after school then. I’ll be waiting for you both.” She packed her things and made her way out.

“Thank you, Alice-san.” Sakura smiled.

The female lightly blushed. “Ah…it’s no problem, really.”

When she had left the already empty classroom, Julia turned over to Sakura.

“She totally likes you!” The albino teased.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. “And I like her too.”

Her jaw dropped in disbelief. “W-What?”

“We’re friends aren’t we?”

Julia reminded herself to breathe in and out. “Oh. That sort of _like_. Of course, you’re friends…” She cringed. “But I meant it in the other way!”

Sakura pouted. “You don’t like her do you? Julia-san…”

“What! She’s okay. Whatever—just don’t leave out the awesome me okay? I’m your friend too! And I have to be around—”

“Why?” Sakura continued keeping her eyebrow raised.

“Uhm—because—I’m your first friend?”

“You don’t sound so convinced.” The Japanese sighed. “And Julia-san, I could take care of myself if you’re still worried about me getting bothered by those guys.”

Julia felt her face heat up. “Why didn’t you say so then?! You know self defense?”

“Hai… but I’d rather not use it unless I’m not on school grounds.” The smaller female muttered.

“Oh? Interesting. I learned something new about you. I bet Alice doesn’t know that, kesesese!”

“Please stop looking so amused Julia-san… this is not a competition.”

Julia still mentally kept that as a victory.

The bell to lunch rang and Julia perked up even more. Sakura and her finished packing and left to go up to the roof top to eat. They hadn’t realized when that had become their spot, but it had, since nobody else was around and they both so happened to really like the peace and quiet as they ate.

“So you brought me some of those little Japanese candy bars back from your place?” Julia asked excitedly.

“Hai, I did.” Sakura said she took some out of her bag.

“I really like the Sakura flavored ones. Your country has lots of yummy stuff!”

The Japanese female couldn’t help but lightly smile at her friend. She thought Julia would have been too much handle at first but she was oddly gentle with her. They would definitely become better friends at the rate they were going, except Julia needed to stop being so protective especially with other people who tried being her friend.

“I just realized, this has your name on it. That means you’re pretty delicious too huh?” Julia smirked.

The smaller Japanese female found herself lightly blushing at that comment. “Julia-san please don’t say such indecent things.”

“What? Why are you blushing? I was just saying...”

“No reason, you’re just too much sometimes.” Sakura said as she looked away to open her bento.

Julia had something else to tease her friend with but got interrupted by another voice.

“Oh! There she is~ Hey, Julchen!” One of Julia’s friends, Elizabeta, a Hungarian green eyed brunette with long wavy hair, had come up to see them.

The albino licked her fingers after finishing the chocolate bars but got pinched on the cheek harshly.

“Ow, ow, ow! Sakura what the hell?” Julia rubbed her cheek.

“You’re not supposed to eat your candy first Julia-san! Ah… Here!” Sakura shoved a rice ball in her mouth.

“Oh! How sweet!~ They’re feeding each other Mei, hurry up!”

“Ack, hold on Elizabeta! I can barely keep up.” A short Taiwanese female with straight long brown hair and honey eyes finally appeared through the door.

“Sakura, you feed Julchen now? How cute~” The Hungarian female swooned as she walked over to sit nearby them. “You two surely are getting along now.”

“She’s pretty mean sometimes. Don’t let her fool you Lizzie.” Julia said pouting.

“Ah! Miss Sakura~ you and Miss Julia look so lovely together.” Mei replied happily as she sat next to Elizabeta.

“Oi, just call me Julia. I feel a little old when you call me Miss. I’m not a teacher.” She responded by frowning.

Mei giggled. “Sure thing!”

Sakura wondered why Elizabeta called Julia, _Julchen_. She found herself wanting to ask but stopped herself. She didn’t want to come off as rude.

“I never bothered asking but is Julchen a nickname or something?” The Taiwanese asked.

Sakura would have to thank Mei for that later.

“Ja, it is. Lizzie likes to call me that and so does Lutz.” Julia said as she picked at Sakura’s bento without her noticing.

“How is Ludwig?” Elizabeta asked.

The conversation had seemed to stray to a topic Sakura knew nothing of, really. She felt oddly left out, but knew they meant nothing by it. The Japanese female was starting to wonder if she’d be able to adapt to things. There was still so much she didn’t know, but she supposed that was how good friendships started after all. The rest of the school year would surely be more interesting with Julia’s friends. Sakura would most definitely find a way to show her gratitude later on and maybe they’d be even closer than now. Who said Julia was the only selfish one? Sakura wanted to get to know Julia a lot more as well but she figured she hid her emotions much better.

“Sakura dearie, I think you should guard your food better. Julchen is eating away at it like a vacuum.” Elizabeta warned.

Sakura’s eyes widened as she slapped her friend’s hand away.

“Julia-san…Do I have to make you a bento of your own from now on too?” She pouted.

The albino’s face lit up. “R-Really? You’d do that for me? You’re the best!”

“Aw…” Elizabeta and Mei said in unison.

Sakura’s face went completely red. She did not need the unnecessary commentary. So that thing about adapting? She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to survive the constant swooning and teasing from simply being thoughtful and nice to Julia. They really needed to find male friends as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, that was actually my first time writing anything gender bent but I figure they're like literally almost the same as their male counterparts except Julia is literally more fierce and Sakura is much more delicate/refined etc. but still her sassy self. Julia is my queen. She honestly reminds me of Alice from Pandora hearts. Seriously, go look her up. She reminds me of her big time. When I first saw Nyo!Prussia's character design I thought of Alice. lol.


	15. Day 15 - In a different clothing style

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I mention I hate clothing themes/prompts? I am beyond terrible with clothing descriptions and what not so bare with me. As for shoes, I like never mention them so just imagine very nice shoes men would wear in the appropriate clothing HAHA. I decided to not even really focus on the clothing. Here's a random sort of plot with them wearing different clothing, of course. Human names used here. Once again, Mei=Taiwan, Leon=Hong Kong. You should know the rest of the names!

Gilbert Beilschmidt squeezed the letter tightly with a grin on his face. The letter notified him that he was invited to Xiao Mei’s Masquerade party and the clothing style was free of choice but a mask was mandatory to attend. There was also something else that he was excited about. Mei always threw parties for Kiku, yes, Kiku Honda, so wherever Mei was, the Japanese male was bound to be. It was a win, win situation. All he needed was to prepare himself in _different_ clothing.

Of course he would cease the opportunity to spend time with his close friend whom he had wanted to formally ask out for a while. Besides, if he took his time who knew what would happen? He sometimes wondered if Kiku already had someone or if he just so happened to have very close friends. There was a sudden knock at his door.

“Bruder? May I come in?”

Gilbert looked up at his door. “Go ahead.”

Ludwig, Gilbert’s younger brother, came in. The first thing he noticed was the letter his older brother had in his hands. “Oh, you got an invitation too?”

Gilbert blinked a bit looking at the letter then at his brother while finally nodding. “You too, Lutz?”

“Ja. I don’t really talk to Mei…so…?”

The albino chuckled in response. “She’s a friendly one, always clinging to Kiku. May as well go and have a good time.”

“You’re going? But we don’t have much to wear…” Ludwig said, his voice clearly hinting that he just didn’t want to bother with the whole event.

“You have a few good suits. We can get creative even if we don’t have traditional clothing. Don’t be lazy. Come with your big bruder to the event! We could have some good drinks.”

Ludwig frowned. “Bruder, I don’t know many people who will be there.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure Feli-chan is going too.” Gilbert grinned and swung his arm around Ludwig.

A sudden buzz from his pockets interrupted him before he spoke anymore.

“Hm, hold on.”

Ludwig sighed.

He checked his phone and saw a new text message.

_‘Hey Gilbert, you got Mei’s invitation to her party later tonight right?’ – Lizzie_

_‘Ja. I’m trying to get Lutz to go with me.’ – Gilbert_

_‘Oh! Please get him to go! Feliciano is really excited. He’s wondering if Ludwig will come too. I’m taking Roderich with me. :P’ – Lizzie_

_‘Sure thing. See you there.’ – Gilbert_

_‘Pretty sure you’re excited to see Kiku~’ – Lizzie_

_‘Go get ready and leave me be woman.’ – Gilbert_

_‘No need to be shy!’ – Lizzie_

Gilbert put his phone away with a light blush.

“Bruder? Are you okay? Who was it? You look a little—”

“Ah ja ja, I’m fine.” He said as he took his arm off the other. “It was Lizzie bugging me about going. Lutz, go get ready so we can go get our masks from the garage!”

“What? We’re going? And we have masks?” The light haired blond said in a panic.

“Of course! Go, go!” Gilbert pushed the other out of his room as he closed the door.

"Hm, so I’ll probably be wearing a tailcoat with a mask or something," Gilbert said to himself.

He sure did hope Kiku would be there.

* * *

 

"Mei-san, you did not have to do this. Why did you invite Gilbert-kun and everyone else too?" Kiku said frowning.

"Oh Kiku, I figured it’d be able to bring you and Gilbert closer together, not to mention everybody else too. See? I’m not _just_ making it about you. You should be ecstatic," the Taiwanese said with a glint in her eye as she hummed looking through her closet.

She was very well aware of the attraction between her good friend Kiku and Gilbert. She knew those two just kept dancing around each other without any real progress and she knew how timid her Japanese friend could be as well. A little push would never hurt right?

Kiku stared at Mei who had her back turned, in disbelief. "But…"

"Nope. You’re not convincing me about anything other than some more additions to this party. So go get ready! This thing will start later at night.”

Kiku frowned but some part of him was a bit happy, excited, or maybe nervous? He wasn’t sure which it was but he hoped to see Gilbert in a nice suit as well.

“Mei-san, if you wanted me to see Gilbert-kun then why did you make it a masquerade?” The Japanese said tilting his head slightly in question.

“To give it a bit more style! If you both really know each other this should be a breeze! Think of it as a small test, hehe.” The smaller female turned around and  winked.

The raven haired male sighed. That wasn’t exactly the response he expected, but he supposed he’d have to figure out what to wear.

He decided he’d go with the Victorian formal tailcoat look. Simple black and white colors, while his mask was a white Venetian mask with a dark strap to hold it on. Kiku never really did like looking too flashy or bringing attention to himself unless he needed to. Mei simply cooed at how great he looked in a suit and how black and white somehow brought out his eyes a lot more. The Japanese wondered if that was a good or bad thing. Part of him didn’t want to be noticed right away.

And before they knew it the hours passed and it was time for said event later that night.

Gilbert and Ludwig wore something more modern, since they didn't have enough time to go out and buy something that was _traditional_. Ludwig did indeed scold Gilbert about it, but said albino defended himself saying the clothing was free of choice. Ludwig wore a tailcoat designed to the color of his liking, dark blue. His light blond hair was gelled back of course. Finally, his mask was white and had dark lined edges. His build alone and eyes could have been a given but, only those close to him could probably tell.

Gilbert on the other hand was dressed in a form fitting grey and white suit, his hands covered with black gloves and his face hidden by a regular black mask as well as a grey fedora hat that matched his suit. As they stepped into the house, eyes were on them instantly. Ludwig felt himself getting nervous.

“Uh, people are staring.” Ludwig said uncomfortably, but more uncomfortable at the fact it looked like a ballroom and not an ordinary home.

They had never seen so many nicely disguised people in one place.

“Kesesese, we’re looking awesome that’s why.” Gilbert said confidently smirking as they walked along.

“They’re going to know exactly who you and I are if you keep laughing like that, bruder.”

“Oh. _Right_. Well, better not let out that German accent of ours, ja?” The albino snickered as he smacked his brother’s chest playfully.

They could see people talking and dancing to the lovely classical music. The pianist at the piano looked way too familiar though, especially with a green eyed masked woman in a Victorian dress with long wavy brown locks of hair. Gilbert smirked knowingly.

“That’s totally Lizzie and specs.” He said pointing and whispering.

As if on cue at her nickname the female turned around and locked eyes with crimson red ones. She smiled and waved before turning back to her partner and leaning her head over his shoulder.

“You’re pretty good at spotting people, bru—uh...” Ludwig said stopping himself from calling Gilbert his brother.

“Haha! It’s hard to break habits huh?” Gilbert said smiling at his younger brother. “Want to try to find Feli-chan? I could spot him for you.” He teased.

“It’s fine. I could figure it out, or—”

Something bumped into his back before he could finish his sentence. A pair of warm light brown eyes stared into his clear light blue ones. It was a shorter male wearing a traditional Venetian styled burgundy and white colored suit with a burgundy mask, Ludwig for some reason felt relieved at the encounter.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to bump into you sir~ There are a lot of people! I’m looking for my friend who is kind of as tall as you! But I don't think you're him so I’ll be on my way.” The shorter male said.

“Psst. Lutz. That’s Feli-chan. Go have some fun.” Gilbert pushed his brother forward and gave him a thumbs up.

Ludwig couldn’t stop the flushing on his face but simply turned away and followed after the other.

Everyone was wearing such lovely outfits, big skirts or long suits. Masks were of different colors and lacing and some resembled other cultures. He felt like he was doing pretty well on his own as he made his way to the drinks. He pretty much recognized his friends, especially Mei who was hanging around the stairway and her traditional cat mask. Her long lavender colored qipao with the gold trim and long, flowing sleeves, along with the long white skirt were pretty predictable, but he supposed the colors were nice on her.

He took a quick chug of his mug as he started wondering where the person he longed to see was at. He sighed wondering if maybe he was mistaken about the Japanese attending.

"Gilbert, you're here!" Mei said from the stairs and ran over to the albino.

"How did you know it was me? It’s my hair isn’t it? Or my eyes? I should have worn contacts. And Lutz said my hair wasn’t even noticeable because of the hat," Gilbert said slightly pouting in disappointment.

"I knew it was you because you’re drinking the beer! I got that specific brand because Elizabeta told me it’s one of your favorites.” The female said grinning. “I don’t have a radar like you apparently.”

"Wow, you really are something Mei," Gilbert laughed.

Truthfully he had only gotten to know Mei through Kiku. She was really fond of them both and he appreciated that.

“Oh hey! Leon come over here.” She pulled onto the other male with light brown hair, a red mask, and a red and grey suit.

“Why, there are so many people Mei.” Leon whined. His brown eyes blinking a bit. “Oh, hello Gilbert.”

“Hey. So…where’s Kiku? You guys know?” He asked looking around.

Mei was about to drink a simple flavored cooler but Leon smacked her hand.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?” She angrily pouted.

“Ah…don’t want you getting buzzed or drunk. You’re near impossible to control.”

The female puffed up her cheeks and smacked Leon. “You’re such a jerk. Coolers have almost no percentage of alcohol!”

She ignored the other’s protest and took a bottle. She then smiled knowingly. "He's probably somewhere less crowded, if you catch my drift," she pointed towards the balcony and winked. “I don’t even know if that’s him, but good luck!”

Leon frowned. “Could have just made it harder on him you know.”

Mei smiled. “I'm not a sadist like you.”

Gilbert made his way over and noticed a shorter man standing straight with his back turned, wearing a black and white suit, his mask was white and black coloring lined the edges. Gilbert didn’t exactly see the man’s face yet but that posture and figure, such a slender build, such familiar short dark straight hair that looked soft to the touch. He felt his face heat up. Said person looked very handsome.

He went over and over in his head of what he would say to the smaller male but before he knew it he was already next to him.

Both males briefly looked over at one another. "Hello." The shorter male said as he turned back to looking at the sky.

"O-Oh hi," Gilbert stuttered. "It's a nice night for a party huh?"

Okay, Gilbert definitely knew it was Kiku after a closer look and that gentle tone. Those same onyx colored eyes with the hint of chocolate brown on them too. They looked gorgeous with the light of the moon hitting them, and that ever so creamy white skin.

Kiku softly smiled at the corner of his lips. "It is, although truthfully I’d rather be here than inside where it’s crowded."

"Why’s that?" Gilbert inquired.

"I don't like being in such a crowded atmosphere. Too much of everything can be overwhelming. And well..."

Gilbert leaned forward waiting to hear what the shorter male said next. He really did like hearing Kiku talk, especially about his feelings, or just anything really. He usually found himself deeply immersed in conversation with him on typical days.

"I wanted to see someone tonight. I wanted to tell them something very important and maybe possibly we could get to know one another more than we already do.” Kiku said this still not making eye contact with Gilbert.

That was probably why the Japanese hadn’t even recognized him yet. He should have worn contacts…

“And why can’t you?” He encouraged the other to continue. He was curious as to who Kiku was looking for.

“I cannot. It will be difficult to recognize them since it is a Masquerade party." The shorter male said with disappointment.

Gilbert shook his head and fidgeted. He wondered who Kiku even wanted to see. His heart fell as he thought it wasn't him. He knew he should have asked Kiku out while he had the chance.

"Oh. I guess so." Gilbert decided to stop staring at the other and looked to the starry night sky.

"I suppose it is my turn to ask why you’re out here," the Japanese inquired in a soft tone.

Gilbert flinched not expecting the question as he turned to the Japanese and awkwardly said, "Uh, just because…I guess to get some fresh air?" He scratched his head sheepishly.

The smaller male chuckled as he finally turned to give his complete attention to the other. "Gilbert-kun, you are very interesting when you do not know how to respond."

"G-Gilbert-kun? I think you’re mistaken," the albino lied.

Kiku stepped closer to the taller male and gently took off Gilbert's mask, revealing the albino's crimson red eyes and short silver strands of hair. "I believe I am not mistaken," He said smiling in small victory.

"H-How did you know?" The other said in mild shock and nervousness.

"Your eyes," Kiku answered. "Your eyes and your skin, the night brings out your color more, especially when the moon hits. You look very nice tonight Gilbert-kun."

The albino pouted and lightly blushed. "Thank you. You as well Kiku," the smaller male was still close to him and he couldn't keep his eyes off him. "Don't you have someone to talk to though?"

"I already am talking with them," that was when Kiku leaned up and gently pressed his lips on Gilbert's chapped ones. The albino felt his heart flutter. He always imagined kissing Kiku, and even making the first move, but the Japanese male was bolder than he thought. He could definitely get used to that. The kiss was short and sweet yet firm but soft. He was simply being drawn into those small soft lips. Both males closed their eyes. They felt their faces heat up and their heart beats quickening as Gilbert took off the other’s mask that was in the way of their closeness. Their noses brushed against each other until the Japanese opened his eyes once more in realization.

Kiku abruptly moved away and lowered his head to bow. “Gomen! Gomen! Mei-san suggested I be bold and do this! I told her it wasn’t a good idea but she said you would be thankful but if you do not wish to speak with me after this—”

And then Gilbert laughed loudly not letting the other finish his sentence because he found it completely comical that his friend was embarrassed _after_ kissing him. He pulled Kiku back to him and tilted his chin up. He then pressed his forehead against the dark haired male."Well, I’ll have to thank Mei later then. And don't be silly, I want to talk with you much more after this.” He grinned at the completely red Kiku.

“Oh my goodness…they just look so good together.” Elizabeta said as she swayed side to side with Roderich.

“You pay too much attention to other people’s love lives but yes, I suppose they look good. Kiku looks fashionable but what is that _fool_ wearing? He looks like he came from Chicago in the 1950’s.”

The Hungarian female giggled as she rested her chin on the Austrian’s shoulders still swaying to the music.

“And this is why I throw parties! They finally kissed Leon!” Mei said fist pumping the air and a flick to her forehead made her squeal in pain. “Ow, ow, ow!” She glared at her male companion.

“Mei, you’ve been so focused on Kiku’s happiness that sometimes I feel like you’re too dense.”

The Taiwanese leaned closer into Leon, her face an inch away from his. Leon felt his face heat up.

“W-What?” He asked cautiously. “You drink too much or something?”

She narrowed her eyes ignoring the drinking question. “Is there someone you like?”

The question caught him off guard. “Why?”

“Because you have too much time on your hands to tease me that’s why!” She pouted as she harshly pinched his cheek and he yelped in pain. “But thank you for always tagging along with me. I’ll make it up to you.”

He rubbed his cheek as she leaned away from him. “Sure, just don’t throw me any parties thanks.”

Back at the balcony the smaller male was still flushed, but he couldn’t help but smile happily at his handsome companion.

“So it was my eyes… not my hair?” Gilbert asked again.

“Hai…I couldn’t really see the color of your hair.”

“Okay, good. So you want to go back out there and dance? Or maybe find Lutz and Feli-chan?” He said as he put his mask back on.

“I don’t dance very well.” Kiku admitted embarrassingly.

“Neither do I, but we could just have fun, besides you see that small guy pulling along the awkward big guy over there?” Gilbert said pointing and smiling.

The Japanese nodded.

“That’s Lutz and Feli-chan so let’s go!”

“B-But Gilbert-kun! I really am a terrible dancer!” Kiku said quickly putting on his mask.

“Good thing we all have disguises then ja?”

Well, he supposed he couldn’t argue with that one and he stared at the other’s hand in his. Kiku never thought he’d have to thank Mei for one of her big parties, but he supposed there was a first time for everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am beyond CHEEEEEEESY AND THE THEMES JUST GET WORSE WITH CHEESE AND FLUFF AS THE DAYS GO ON.
> 
> R.I.P. me


	16. Day 16 - At a bar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I made up this prompt because the actual prompt was supposed to be "During their morning ritual(s)" and quite honestly, I think I more than well enough made up for switching this theme with the word count. The prompt was honestly too boring to me and I wasn't really thinking of anything out of ordinary with that lol. I already write lots of fluffy trash anyway. This chapter will probably be my longest one out of these chapters and I apologize for that. I'm too lazy to separate it into 2 chapters and add it as a separate story. You may skip this if you'd like. 
> 
> Oh yes, hinted established FRUK at the BEGINNING and Aushun as always. You'll either always see them being a pair or just together as good friends. 
> 
> [laughs into the distance at 'friends']

Gilbert grew curious with each passing day. He knew with each encounter that the other was neither an alcoholic nor a sports fan. He wondered why the Japanese looking male kept coming back to this sort of scene. He had spoken to Francis about him every now then because he’d usually take the next shift after the Frenchman. The smaller male with raven dark hair that would always sit at the same spot of the bar, he looked more of the lonely business type guy. What definitely surprised him was the beer drinking, but he supposed he couldn’t judge them all. He’d get his fair share of people ordering odd drinks.

At first Gilbert figured the other just had nowhere else to go, except that for the past week he just so happened to overhear conversations when the Japanese male answered his phone. He had declined to go to several parties, whether they were business related or not, the obnoxious voice on the other end would talk loudly about, and some days the voice would sound female, but the Japanese would just stay at the bar for another hour or more after those calls. So there Gilbert was, setting up for his shift when his friend Francis, the blond with shoulder-length wavy hair and blue eyes, sat down on the nearby stool.

“Hm~ you know the usual Gilbert.” He said resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

“I don’t know why you’re picking to drink _now_ of all times Francis. You just got off your shift. Isn’t Arthur coming to get you?” The albino said as he opened up a bottle and poured the drink in a glass.

“Oui, but I want to relax with a nice drink before going home. One won’t hurt.”

“Suit yourself, here.” The albino set the glass of red wine down in front of him.

“Merci.” Francis took the glass and took an almost elegant-like sip. “So tell me Gilbert, anymore on that adorable Japanese man you are curious to get to know? It really sounds like he’s got your eye.”

Gilbert huffed. “Stop teasing. I just—I don’t know. I’m not going to hit on the guy while on the job.”

“Ah~ so you admit you’re looking for more than just merely getting to know him, non?”

Before he could even start telling Francis that what he assumed wasn’t what he meant, a loud _“DAMN IT, YOU FROG”_ , was heard as a blond with emerald green eyes and bushy eye brows walked through the door and towards them.

“Oh… _mein gott._ ” Gilbert face palmed _._

Luckily not many people were in yet as the evening barely came around. Only a few people turned around.

“Ugh…Francis, could you do everyone a favor in here and leave after you drink your glass?” The albino said with a sigh.

He was usually up for entertaining himself with the bickering between Francis and Arthur but he had _just_ started his shift and Gilbert was known to be serious when he was on the job or pretty much he didn’t want to get in trouble for not being. After all, he really respected his boss and wanted to be praised for doing a great job by him!

Francis smiled at Gilbert and turned to the green eyed blond. “Aw~ why if it isn’t mon amour~” He said cheerfully taking a sip of his wine and setting the glass down again.

“Shut it. I came to pick you up. I had a bloody feeling you’d stick around and drink your damn wine.” Arthur said as he tapped his foot against the floor impatiently. “Now chug that ridiculous drink and let’s go.”

“You were worried about moi? I am honored.” Francis said as he winked at Arthur and looked over at his coworker afterward. “Hm, I do apologize I was not able to give you much advice, Gilbert. I wish you luck with the petit agneau. Just talk to him tonight if he comes around and don’t be shy.” 

Gilbert sighed and waved him off, gesturing for him to go away. The albino then called over the green eyed bond. “Hey Arthur, next time you come in and scold Francy pants here—” he heard an offended gasp out of Francis. “Just pull him out of here with you instead of causing a scene and yelling that really lame nickname you have for him.” 

The Englishman frowned, “Ah… sorry Gilbert. I suppose I should have been a bit more considerate. I forget that you work night shift. I blame this _git_ over here who tells me he’ll be out by a certain time but decides to keep me waiting”. 

“Right right. Go on children.” He waved them both away and heard their voices becoming more distant and yet he wondered why Francis and Arthur were so damn loud regardless. 

“Are we going to snuggle in the blankets tonight?” The Frenchman inquired. 

“I have work the next day, if I catch you getting handsy I’m kicking you off the bed.” 

A whine was heard.

“I will make you breakfast~” 

“Sure but we’re not doing what you’re implying tonight _, frog_.” 

“Oh? So tomorrow night then? Very well~ I will be expecting a grand performance from you.” 

“What the?! YOU GIT this is why I don’t like being in public with you!” 

And finally a soft laugh from the Frenchman was the last thing he managed to hear. Gilbert found himself snickering as he cleaned some glasses and prepared an ordered drink from another customer.

* * *

 

Business had been pretty slow that night for Gilbert and the curiosity ate away at him. He remembered the last thing Francis told him which was to just talk to the guy. So he did, he was usually a great talker! This shouldn’t have been any different right? It started out simple enough.

“So, what’s your name?” He asked the Japanese male.

Wide onyx with a hint of chocolate colored eyes looked up at him, startled.

Gilbert continued on, “I m-mean, you come in here sort of often, so…”

He tried, he really did. He didn’t want to seem like a creep, but...

“Oh… Kiku.” He said as he took a sip out of his drink afterward, looking at his mug.

Gilbert blinked a bit confused. “Sorry, what?”

“I apologize if I did not speak clearly. My name is Kiku Honda,” the smaller male said again briefly making eye contact and going back to staring at his drink.

Gilbert wanted to slap himself silly. He wanted to talk to him but found himself a little dumbfounded at how cute this guy was now that he actually was talking to him and was looking right at him. He snapped out of his reverie.

“Oh, alright, nice name there. I’m Gilbert but, uh… I figure you already knew that ha ha.” He said sheepishly.

The albino felt himself failing with his response. Kiku nodded silently and took another much longer slip of his beer.

“Nice night isn’t?”

“Yes… I suppose.” The other muttered.

Maybe the shorter dark haired male wasn’t much of a talker or maybe he was just shy? Gilbert shrugged it off and was thankful someone else sat down at the bar so he could escape an awkward silence. He usually would have tried to strike up more exciting conversations but he just felt so damn out of it. How would he be able to even make simple conversation with someone he apparently found attractive because yes, his eyes would go to the other’s soft looking black strands of hair, the urge to ruffle that hair and tell the male to smile was truly strong. And those almost hollow like eyes he wanted to take a good look at because he had a feeling there was more behind them. Why he even gave all of this thought, he had no clue.

He finished mixing the Bloody Mary cocktail this other guy in a tight muscle shirt ordered and turned to see if Kiku needed anything, but found him gone. Exact change for his one beer, along with a five dollar bill, was left on the counter. Gilbert found himself frowning and feeling disappointed, but thought nothing more of it. He just took the cash, pocketed his tip, and continued working.

And it was just his luck, of course, Kiku was gone the next day. Gilbert found himself wondering where the hell he was, considering it was already past 8:40pm and he usually showed up at eight on the dot.  It was a busy night, though, and the spot that was usually occupied by Kiku was taken by none other than Roderich. Gilbert let out a frustrated sigh.

“Oi, Lizzie…why the heck are you and Roderich here?” He asked while cleaning a few glasses.

Elizabeta, his green eyed brunette Hungarian friend, smiled at him. “Don't be rude. You heard my order right? Get him that nice quality wine you got.”

Gilbert cringed. He knew what she was doing. She probably wanted Roderich to drink a bit more than usual. She had been wanting him to loosen up a bit more than usual lately due to him stressing out over work.

“Ja, I heard you woman.” He turned around to get a bottle.

“And what about you Elizabeta? Are you going to get a glass too?” Roderich asked.

The female giggled. “Of course.”

“So another glass…okay, thanks for letting me know before I put the drink away.” Gilbert said sarcastically.

He set both glasses down for them. “So what brings you both around?”

“Hm, relaxing tonight and Francis told me about this place so I decided to bring Roderich since he said a lady shouldn’t go on her own. Isn’t that sweet?” She chuckled.

“Elizabeta…it’s true. Why would you come here on your own?” The Austrian frowned. "There are nothing but savages."

“I just need to relax is all. I can take care of myself Roderich.”

Gilbert watched and listened at the pair trying to keep interest.

“So Francis told me something _interesting._ ” The Hungarian woman started and she smirked over at the albino.

_Oh no._

“What did Francy pants tell you?” Gilbert grumbled.

“So Kiku, hm?”

Gilbert gaped. “How the heck did you know his name?”

She smirked at him. “Francis knew his name.”

“Hurensohn!” He cursed.

“Gilbert Beilschmidt!” Elizabeta scolded.

Roderich coughed in response and said, “this is why I didn’t want to be around”.

“Oh Roderich, shush.” The Hungarian woman gestured. 

“Francis knew I wanted to know his name.” The albino insisted.

“Oh goodness you are a lost cause.” She frowned. 

“He’s a fool.” Roderich corrected.

“Oi, specs, I didn’t ask for your opinion! And what the heck are you talking about?” He said turning to Elizabeta. 

“You have to do things yourself, duh. You can’t expect everything on a silver platter you idiot.”

It was going to be a long night. Elizabeta eventually left with a much buzzed Roderich in her arms, while Gilbert of course recorded it all. He worked well past midnight, and the owner, an older male named Frederick, who truth be told was almost like a mentor to Gilbert but was his boss, asked the albino if he could lock up for the night. Gilbert ever so happily obliged. He counted up his tips for the day, stuffed the cash and coins into his wallet, and took off. As he drove his way home away from the bar, he couldn’t help but wonder again where Kiku had been. He’d just gotten used to seeing the same face every day for the past three weeks that it felt sort of—well almost lonely without him.

* * *

 

Gilbert widely grinned when said Japanese walked through the door, but his grin quickly faded when he saw the state Kiku was in. He looked exhausted, like he’d just run a marathon or something, and there were a few scabbed-over cuts on his forehead, one on his bottom lip, and another on his right cheek. It was very noticeable considering Kiku had very creamy white skin. When Kiku sat down, he was a bit more enthusiastic about the beer Gilbert brought him than he usually was. The Japanese male chugged a quarter of it before setting the mug down on the counter.

“Oi, bad day?” Gilbert asked as his eyes glanced down the bar to be sure he had time to listen.

No one needed his attention right away, so he focused back on Kiku. He noticed the scrapes on his knuckles as well and wondered if he had gotten into a fight. Kiku nodded and took another sip of the beer not responding.

“Do wanna talk about it?” Gilbert asked while raising an eyebrow. "I know how to keep a secret," he assured.

Kiku tensed, and Gilbert honestly expected the Japanese to tell him to fuck off, or to mind his own business, especially because of the face Kiku made, but after a second more it softened and he hung his head, staring down at the counter.

“I accidentally over-slept... and I never do. I’m always very punctual with time. I do not know how that happened. I may or may not have wrecked my car yesterday as well….” Gilbert’s eyes widened but Kiku just kept on talking. “I haven’t slept properly in the past week and I think I might have insomnia. I fell asleep behind the wheel a few times on my way to work and I somehow have survived until now. I also got yelled at and warned that if I come to work late again I’ll lose my job. My boss said I’ll lose my job if I come in late again no matter what excuse. He said I’d lose—” Kiku stopped and looked up at Gilbert, looking apologetic. He shook his head. “Gomen... It’s been a few long days. Ah, I mean sorry.”

Gilbert offered him a warm smile, and Kiku took another long gulp from his beer mug, which was more than half empty now. He had questions, but it looked like Kiku had enough issues, and he didn’t want to seem nosy. Maybe he’d ask later, but then at that moment four guys sat down at the other end of the bar so he excused himself. Kiku nodded to him and Gilbert went to take their orders. He scribbled the order of chicken wings and fries down, delivered it to the kitchen, and made the drinks. By the time he got back to Kiku, the beer bottle in front of him was empty, meaning the Japanese male would probably leave soon.

“Thank you, Mister Gilbert,” Kiku said politely.

Gilbert blinked. “You could just call me Gilbert but you seem to still hold on to a bit of customs, so if you’d like _Gilbert-san_ right? That’s what you’d say in Japanese?”

Kiku was the one to blink this time in astonishment and softly chuckled. “How did you—”

“Oh, sorry.” He interrupted. “You said _‘gomen’_ when you were venting so I just figured—Am I being too much? I can leave you alone.”

“No no, you are correct. Then if it is alright I will say Gilbert-san.” Kiku’s expression looked a bit more relaxed.

Gilbert had to admit, the light chuckle was quite adorable. He was happy to have at least made Kiku smile in some way. His smile was really nice.

The smaller male pulled cash out of his pocket and placed it onto the counter before standing up and leaving. Gilbert wished he would have stayed a few seconds longer, because he was prepared to pay for it himself, it would have been a friendly gesture, considering it sounded like he could lose his job soon. Besides, Kiku gave really good tips. 

* * *

 

Kiku seemed to be in a bit of a better mood than the day before when he walked in at eight sharp, but he still looked tired. Gilbert had the bottle of beer ready and twisted off the cap as he sat down in his usual spot, thanking Gilbert and taking a drink.

It was a Wednesday, and not many people were in the bar that day. In fact, other than Kiku, there were two other guys in the back tables shooting pool, and some Russian guy at the bar. That was it, for now, and neither party was in need of anything, so he could talk for a bit.

“So, how is your car?” Gilbert asked, leaning on the counter a bit.

Kiku sighed. “It’s nonexistent.” He said looking at his drink.

“What happened to it?”

Gilbert just wanted to know what the cause of it all was.

“A truck.”

Gilbert’s jaw dropped with eyes wide. Kiku slightly tilted his head in confusion by the shock.

“You… you got hit by a truck and all you got was…” He gestured to Kiku’s bruise, “that?”

Kiku chuckled this time and shook his head. He took a sip from his beer.

“I believe you are misunderstanding Gilbert-san. I was not in the car at the time,” he explained. “This…” He gestured to himself. “This was from the fistfight I got into with the truck driver, after he smashed into my car, and blamed me for not parking correctly at a stop but in actuality my car had run out of gas...”

Gilbert watched him take a drink from his beer as he noticed that the scratches on his hands were more like dried bloody knuckles. He had seen plenty from bar fights. It was strange how someone so docile looking like Kiku actually got bruised up from a fight?

“Ah, but he attacked me first… I couldn’t allow myself to simply—”

“Ja, I get you. No need to say more.” Gilbert gestured apologetically.

Gilbert would have asked him a bit more, but one of the males waved him over. He excused himself and was glad that the pair had asked for the bill, which he brought fairly quickly. One of the men was giving him a smile and Gilbert apologized, but the Spaniard guy stayed grinning like he knew something as he fished a twenty out of his pocket.

“Thanks, uh…?” 

“Antonio,” he replied, still grinning. “But you can call me Toni, amigo! You better get back to that story that guy is telling, it sounds pretty interesting.” He stood up to leave when his friend nodded. “Keep the change Gil!”

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. Why did that guy seem really familiar? He slightly reminded him of Francis. He shrugged it off and wished Antonio—er, Toni and his friend a nice day as he returned to the bar putting away the money. He checked on the Russian guy, too, asking if he needed anything, but the man just waved him off smiling. He really wondered why people were grinning at him tonight. He returned to Kiku who was once again finished with his beer.

The albino did his best to hide his disappointment, because this was the second time he finished his drink fast, and left him wondering. For a moment, he thought Kiku might stick around, but the cash was pulled out of his pocket again and placed on the counter. A brief _‘thank you’_ and Kiku was out the door. He rushed out, and Gilbert wondered if he should just give up on the idea of buying him the beer himself.

* * *

 

8:00pm came once again, and Kiku had showed up on the dot again. Gilbert had his beer ready, along with a question.

“Just wondering, how do you get here since you say you have no car?”

“I walk,” he told the albino. “I live in the apartment complex a few blocks away.”

“Oh,” Gilbert said.

Thursday was usually his busy day, only because of the drunks that came in once a week, and this week they had about five people with them that were sitting at a table, talking loudly and playing on phones, discussing drinking games and what not. Antonio and Francis had actually walked in this time grinning and winking at him.

He wouldn’t have much time to talk he could tell, but the beers for the drunkards were full. Luckily Mei, his Taiwanese coworker was also around to wait on tables, too, so he had a minute or two.

“Pssst, Gilbert you didn’t tell me you knew Kiku!” She whispered.

Gilbert’s eyes widened. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know this guy?”

“Oh, no silly. He’s my childhood friend. I had a long time crush on him until we reached university and he told me he didn’t feel the same.” She smiled.

Gilbert had no idea how to reply to that. He wasn’t sure if he should have felt sorry or—

“So Kiku~ you like him, hm?” She asked curiously.

Gilbert sighed. “Uhm, I just want to get to know the guy. Calm down. Besides, it’s not like he’s—”

Mei winked. “Gay? He swings that way. He dated a few others before you know.”

The albino gaped. “I think that’s a bit much Mei.”

Though in reality it was a relief to him.

“I’m doing this for a good cause. I’ll give you some extra time here and there so go on!” She shoved him off.

While Gilbert was able to get more time talking to Kiku here and there this shift, he was able to learn a little more about Kiku’s unreasonable hours and distance to and from work.

“Why don’t you find a job closer to home? Since your other job sounds like a pain in the ass, actually office jobs in general are a pain.” Gilbert chuckled.

“The pay is good,” Kiku answered. “They even gave me a credit card to pay for gas.”

Gilbert whistled in response.

Kiku took a long gulp of his beer. “What about you, Gilbert-san? Bartending? You almost resemble a famous actor with your rare and handsome—”

He stopped talking and Gilbert stopped any form of movement. There was a small tint of pink on the smaller male’s cheeks and Gilbert would have blushed but he was too shocked to react. Nothing was said for a moment, a very awkward moment because if Gilbert didn’t know any better Kiku had been hitting on his bartender. Something about that made Gilbert want to smirk but he held it back.

“Well, I like it here.” The albino finally said, and that was true. “Pay is good enough. Tips are awesome and well, if I don’t say so myself I look good in these clothes.”

Kiku focused on his drink instead of looking at Gilbert. He took a long few gulps, and was about one swallow of beer away from putting the tip on the counter and leaving.

“I see,” was all he said.

He finished off the beer, left his pay and tip, and left as Gilbert pouted.

* * *

 

Antonio and Francis were back again, and Gilbert was actually glad for once. Francis waved him over and asked for another round of drinks. He was about to make the rounds, make sure everyone sitting at the tables were good on food and drinks, but Antonio grabbed him by the arm before he had a chance.

He froze.

“Francis told me the situation amigo. It looks like your guy over there is going to finish his beer soon! Better go say something,” he said patting his back.

Gilbert blinked at him while looking over at Francis confused, even more so when Antonio smiled happily, but he just let him go and took a good shot of tequila with lime after that.

“Francis, are you telling the whole world?” Gilbert asked with a hand on his hip.

“Non~ do not fear, Antonio is reliable.” He waved Gilbert off.

Gilbert took the Spaniard’s advice, though, and returned to Kiku to find he was right, one gulp away from gone for another day.

“Hey, um…” Gilbert glanced over at Francis, who just winked at him. “Just want to say thank you.”

Kiku finished his beer.

“I'm sorry to ask but what for?”

Gilbert swallowed the lump in his throat.

“The, uh… the tips. Really, it’s not necessary, but… thanks.” Oh god, it was no time to be timid or embarrassed.

“Oh. My pleasure, Gilbert-san, I—I enjoy our conversations.” The Japanese said with a hint of happiness.

“Same here, Kiku.” The albino smiled.

Same old tip, and he was gone. Gilbert, again, wondered, but now his thoughts strayed towards what Antonio said. The guy knew something he didn’t, and it occupied his mind until closing. The fact everybody else also seemed to want to help...

* * *

 

Kiku kept himself from the bar for the long weekend he had, and when he reappeared on Tuesday he could see Gilbert recognize him instantly. He knew there would be a beer waiting for him, and truthfully, Kiku forgot why he started drinking so much beer in the first place or why he even drank every time he came—oh wait, he knew why.

 _‘I am destroying my liver for foolish reasons…’_ he thought.

When he sat down, he took a drink of it the second he could. The taste of alcohol never appealed to him, but he supposed people didn’t drink for taste now did they? He had hoped three days away from the bar would help him get over this silly crush he had on his bartender, who was currently smiling at him, but the tightness in his chest told him that hadn’t worked at all. He muttered curse words to himself in his native tongue. He wanted to curse Gilbert for being so friendly and actually talking to him, rather than just being, well, good looking, but Kiku felt it’d be too cruel and impolite so he took back his thoughts. He wasn’t even safe in his own thoughts!

Kiku had hoped, for a while, that it had just been a physical attraction, but when Gilbert had started talking to him, it turned into something worse. And he had almost given his feelings away. He wondered if Gilbert knew as he took another drink of beer. It also did not help that Mei worked there with the man he desired.

“Hm, you’re quieter today,” the albino mused.

“Yes,” Kiku simply said.

“Anything bothering you?”

“Yes.” The Japanese said bluntly.

“Well, if you want to talk with the awesome me, you know where to find me.” Gilbert said as he wandered off to take the order of two women sitting at a table behind him, and couldn’t help but look over his shoulder for a second. He caught the eyes of one of the two, and the green eyed brunette winked at him. Not the flirty type of wink, but the _‘I know’_ kind. Kiku shivered and turned back around, thankful that Gilbert hadn't noticed.

When the albino returned, it was just silence between them, and it made Kiku drink just a bit more, a bit faster. So maybe the alcohol wouldn’t snap him out of his foolish crush, but the warm feeling seemed to dampen the annoying pain it gave him. He finished it quickly, and when he looked to the albino, he saw it. A hint of—well,it could have been anything, really, but Kiku was pretty sure there was some kind of sadness behind those crimson red eyes. How rare and beautiful, he thought. And before he knew it, as if on reflex, he ordered another.

“Another, please.”

Gilbert looked surprised, but didn’t object, twisting off another cap and setting another bottle down in front of him with a mug on the side. Subconsciously, Kiku knew his tolerance wasn’t amazing, but he didn’t care at that point. He was going to get drunk for the first time in a very long time, and he just didn’t bother listening to conscience. He had enough worries on his mind.

He came to regret it, so _very_ , very much. Even before Kiku opened his eyes, he really wished he hadn’t gotten drunk. He had no idea where he was, but it felt soft, softer than a floor, at least. And when he found the courage to open his eyes, he groaned. It was way too bright, and the white ceiling wasn’t one he recognized. It didn’t help that he couldn’t remember a damn thing past chugging his third beer. It wasn’t just any type of beer either. Those German beers were pretty strong tasting, but then again—

“Crap,” he said, out loud, not really caring who heard.

“Crap is right. Ha ha!”

_Well crap indeed._

It was none other than Gilbert, he recognized the voice oh so clearly. Kiku hoped he was still drunk and hearing things, but when he sat up and looked around, he found it to be very real. There was Gilbert, standing a few feet from the couch he was on, wearing black pants and a navy blue shirt, barefoot.

“Should I even ask what happened?” Kiku mumbled, getting up as he put his hand over his forehead.

“You got drunk after three beers or uh I guess four and a half. I didn’t know which apartment building you lived in, and you passed out half way into the parking lot.”

“Oh my…Gomennasai…Gomen, Gomen… Gilbert-san, gomen!” Kiku lowered his head in shame.

Gilbert shrugged, but he didn’t look exactly fine with the situation either, which led Kiku to guess he was lying when he told him that it wasn’t a big deal and that he wouldn’t leave him in the parking lot. He even told him he hadn’t thrown up.

Kiku felt like he was going to throw up at that moment, but he swallowed it down.

“I should go…”

He stood too fast, and stumbled, and he really wished he hadn’t, because Gilbert was there in a second, holding him up, _too close._ The not-so-logical part of Kiku’s brain was telling him to latch onto Gilbert and never let go, an urge he fought until he could stand on his own and the albino was a good distance away again.

“Need anything before you leave? Water, breakfast… I could make something. You haven’t lived until you tried some of my cooking!” He said arrogantly grinning.

“No, no, letting me sleep here was enough. It was extremely kind of you. Thank you Gilbert-san, thank you very much for your hospitality and kindness.”

The front door was easy enough to find, and Kiku left, stumbling in the hall a bit and suppressing the urge to vomit when he rode the elevator down one floor. He hadn’t even let Gilbert walk him out.

* * *

 

It was in the middle of the day and Kiku had called in sick to work which his boss must have been in a great mood because he excused him. He listened to the three voice mails Mei had left him, when he suddenly remembered. Images and words just sort of flowed back into his mind, and he felt sick again, because he realized Gilbert had lied when he said he had passed out in the parking lot. He had _thrown up_ in the parking lot, and all the way back to the albino’s place. He had talked at length about being in love with a bartender and not having the courage to tell him and that he wasn’t worthy regardless because he was pathetic.

Kiku did throw up then, out of disgust, and vowed to never get drunk again, ever. He also figured staying away from the bar would be a good idea, too.

When he got home he took a quick shower to rinse off the disgusting feeling. All he was left with was shame and regret. He took a few pills to kill the pain in his head, and flopped onto his bed once he got dressed into his comfortable clothing. Kiku had no idea how long he just laid there, but eventually his phone buzzed once, a text message.

The name on the display shocked him.

_Hope you don’t mind, I got your phone and put my number in it. Just checking to make sure you’re ok. – Gilbert_

Kiku muttered every curse word that came to his mind, and then replied.

_I am fine. Sorry. – Kiku_

His phone buzzed again, a minute later.

 _Hey! I said it’s fine. Being drunk sucks, besides I’m surprised you even drink German beer to begin with. I didn’t think you were the beer type._ – _Gilbert_

The raven haired male groaned, but figured he couldn’t screw up any more than he already had.

_I meant sorry for what I said, Gilbert-san. – Kiku_

A minute passed.

_It was the alcohol that’s all. – Gilbert_

Kiku wished that were true.

_Yes, and it told you the truth. I’m very sorry for embarrassing you, Gilbert-san. It would be best if I stayed away for a while. Have a good day. – Kiku_

And after that Kiku ignored his phone, whether or not he got a text he hadn’t checked. He slept for the rest of the day.

Kiku did stay away from the bar for the rest of the week. He also ignored Gilbert’s texts throughout the day. He threw himself into his work after the whole incident, but it wasn’t until he got out of work one day that he found a very bothered Mei waiting for him instead of a designated driver he had gotten assigned to drive him to and from work.

“I finally got a hold of you Kiku Honda! My goodness, are you trying to drop dead?” The Taiwanese said.

“Mei-san?” The Japanese asked confused at the situation.

“Don’t _Mei-san_ ME. I’m driving you home today. I told your Vietnamese coworker she could take the day from driving you off.” She huffed as she opened the door for him to the car.

“Uh…” He blinked as Mei gestured for him to get inside.

“I should be opening the door for you instead…” He said softly.

“Oh cut the politeness for now. I am upset don’t start with me today!”

Kiku would have argued but he felt sort of— _afraid_? So he got in the car with no complaints. It was very rare for Mei to ever lash out on him. She treated him way too sweetly for that so yes he was scared.

On the drive home Mei had bombarded him with questions like, _‘So have you answered Gilbert back? Elizabeta told me what happened and I can’t believe you’re ignoring him! You know he is probably  just as scared as you. Talk to him! Kiku Honda—’_

Kiku could only sigh on the drive home. So maybe he was being childish but he really did make a fool of himself. And how did he know the albino liked men in the first place?! All Mei responded with was, _“Only one way to find out!”_

So in other words embarrass himself once more, _great._

* * *

 

By the time Gilbert got home from his shift, it was midnight, and he was exhausted. He hadn’t seen Kiku in days (or more like the whole week going into the second), and figured he wouldn’t any more. Gilbert had told himself he might have lost his job, or gotten sick or anything else but he reminded himself of the incident and how terribly frightened and embarrassed Kiku looked. And then that last text really did stab at his own feelings. Gilbert had texted him back telling him that maybe he felt the same and that if he wanted to find out more that they could have a proper outing and get to know one another. He wanted to get to know the real Kiku Honda, because he knew beneath those onyx colored eyes, there was much more depth and he wanted to see him smiling again. That smile was beautiful, but he couldn’t even say that to him. It was obvious Kiku had ignored him.

Gilbert tried to place his thoughts elsewhere, but he just couldn’t. He could still see the empty place at the bar, and Francis’ and Antonio’s knowing looks. He already got a good scolding from Elizabeta, telling him to try harder and Roderich for once sympathized, which actually made Gilbert cringe. At that moment, he just needed to sleep. Maybe then he could get his mind off Kiku, about how he liked him and his cute eyes and lips and hair, even his short stature along with his soft spoken nature. Usually Gilbert didn’t drink before sleeping, but the whiskey bottle called to him. He wasn’t much of a whiskey person either but the last time Francis and Arthur showed up, they left the bottle there. He poured himself a small glass and sat on the bed in his room, sipping at it, uninterested and lost in thought. He was only pulled from those thoughts when he heard a sudden, loud noise or weird thump at his door. He took his shot and set the glass down to walk towards his door.

_“Mei-san! I cannot believe you’re leaving me here.”_

_“Yeah well, you’re talking to him whether you like it or not. That’s really rude Kiku… and you out of all people should know that… you know better. I can tell you for certain that he’s really hurt.”_

_“Mei-san—”_

_“I’m leaving! Bye!” She waved._

“Wait!—” Kiku extended his arm but before Kiku even got the chance to walk after his Taiwanese friend the door abruptly opened to the albino with wide eyes. The Japanese froze in sight.

“Hello…G-Gilbert-san,” was all he mustered up to say.

The albino blinked a bit. There he was, Kiku Honda, the one he had wanted to talk to for the past week after drunkenly confessing. There, right there. Gilbert snapped out of it and pulled the smaller male inside.

“Gilbert-san?!”

He shut the door and stared at the dark haired male who was hiding his face in his hair. He took in Kiku’s image, although all he could think at the moment was how adorable he looked much closer to him.

“Hey Kiku.” He said as he frowned. “You can take a seat if you’d like.”

“Ah… no thank you… Mei-san left me here but I could take a bus back—”

“Nein.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Kiku asked again for reassurance.

“Nein. You’re not going anywhere.”

So Kiku safely assumed the other was German after that. Luckily he knew the basics to understand what Gilbert even meant by that but he didn't really need to understand the language, the albino's body language was very obvious...

“I—I apologize for showing up without notice. It was not intended—”

“You know what’s actually very rude, Kiku?” The albino said while noticing the other looking downwards avoiding his gaze. “Never mind, but I have a favor to ask of you. Kiku…would you look at me please?”

The Japanese flinched but slowly raised his head to meet crimson red eyes. And there it was, what Gilbert had wanted to see since the first day he’d seen Kiku at the bar, those onyx colored eyes with the hint of chocolate brown, looking back at him. His eyes looked much softer now that he could actually look into them. They looked so soft and gentle, they had an indescribable warmth to them and yet he could easily see fear behind them at that moment. Gilbert deeply sighed.

“I’m not going to do anything to you. I just want to talk, ja?”

The smaller male nodded.

“I guess we’ll talk at the door? But no running out.”

Kiku leaned more of his back to the door and nodded.

“You didn’t see my texts?”

“No, gomen… if you’d like I could see them now…” Kiku looked up at the albino with a frown.

“Nein. You can see them after I’m done talking. It’ll be brief.” Gilbert said gesturing the other to put his phone away. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want, but I’m just wondering why you started coming by the bar often? You don’t seem like an alcoholic.” He said with a light chuckle.

Kiku was taken aback by the question but decided to respond regardless. “I… I came to relieve stress from work, a friend of mine recommended it but she never did show up during the times I’d come. I even told her when I usually showed up.”

“Wait, so you showed up because of someone else?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Hai… I did, but she stood me up on purpose. She said I’d eventually find a good friend to speak with. Until then I had no clue as to what she meant.”

Gilbert blinked a bit more. It suddenly all came together… those idiot friends of his. “Mein gott…” he facepalmed.

“What is it?” Kiku tilted his head in confusion.

“Was your friend Xiao Mei? The one who just left you here.” Gilbert asked.

“Yes, Mei-san…”

“Ha! It makes sense now. I think everyone was setting us up…” Gilbert strained a smile unsure of how to feel. Was he live entertainment to his friends or what?

“Everyone?” The Japanese male repeated.

“Ja… a few friends of mine…They kept hinting things. I wondered what the heck was going on.”

Kiku then gasped. “By any chance, does one of your friends happen to be a light haired brunette with green eyes and long wavy hair? She seems to have a Hungarian accent if I’m correct?”

Gilbert sighed. “Ja…Elizabeta, though she wasn’t the only one. Why? She approached you?”

“Something like that.” Kiku muttered.

The albino grumbled under his breath.

Both males stared at one another in disbelief after a good minute but laughed. They let out their laughter together because who would have thought of the irony of their friends trying to put two people together. Though that wasn’t the real irony, the real irony was how it actually worked because Kiku really did like Gilbert and Gilbert really wanted to know so much more about Kiku.

“Okay. That’s all I wanted to know.” The albino said grinning. “You can check your phone now.”

The Japanese male looked at Gilbert and felt his nervousness hit him all at once. “Okay,” was all he responded with.

He took out his phone and saw the texts he had left. In reality Gilbert had only left a few texts, mostly due to the word limit. The last bits were mostly Gilbert checking up on him.

_‘You shouldn’t apologize for your feelings Kiku. I know that we haven’t exactly gotten to know each other as well as we’d like but I was thinking we could probably try something, yes? Please don’t stop coming by, I actually like it when you’re around. You make my shift more interesting. Did you know that when I first saw you I wanted to find a way to talk to you but I failed really hard? My friend Francis had to push me to it. I’m usually really good at having conversations with people believe it or not but I guess you just really made me forget my usual awesome smooth talking. So I was thinking that I could maybe take you out away from the bar and we could get to know one another because I sure as hell would like to. But I promise to not bother you if you wish to not speak to me again. Please at least answer me because if you are wondering, I really like you too Kiku.' – Gilbert_

_‘Hey, this isn’t about my last text but I’m just checking in. Hope you haven’t gotten sick or something. I heard flu season is coming up so make sure to take care.’ – Gilbert_

_‘Hey Kiku, hope stuff at your job is going well.’ – Gilbert_

Kiku’s eyes widened at the texts. He had never met someone as sweet as the man in front of him. Sure he had a few nice friends of his own, but this was different. This person genuinely seemed to like him regardless of his foolish drunk confession and his crappy stress. The man even dealt with his vomit! He didn’t want to take his eyes off his phone and he honestly felt terrible for ignoring that kindness, for pushing it away. Then the realization hit him when his cheeks took on a pinkish shade. _Gilbert liked him back._

“Kiku?” He heard the voice he missed for the past week call his name.

When Kiku looked up he found Gilbert at a much closer proximity grinning at him. They were a mere inch away. The Japanese wanted to back away a bit more to put distance between them but found himself against the door. He felt the albino’s warm breath hit him. It was sort of intoxicating in an odd sort of way.

“I…I didn’t know. I’m…sor—”

Gilbert covered his mouth with his finger. “Haha, you say sorry way too much. I prefer a smile in exchange.” He leaned his forehead against the smaller male and Kiku felt himself getting redder. His heart wanted to jump out of his chest.

Gilbert’s cheeks had a tint of pink on them but he didn’t care. He just really wanted to hug Kiku. “Hope you don’t mind me asking but—" a buzz interrupted their moment and Gilbert thought he would have cursed at Kiku’s phone any minute, but surprisingly his phone buzzed too.

_‘You better KISS him.’ – Xiao Mei_

Kiku’s eyes widened as he put his phone away ignoring the text as best he could.

_‘Gilbert Beilschmidt you better kiss him.’ – Lizzie_

_‘Gilbert, if you do not kiss him, Antonio and I are going to post those pictures of you at the last Halloween costume party~’ – Francy Pants_

The albino took a deep breath as he put his phone away and made sure he’d remember to get Francis back regardless. But of course he wanted to kiss Kiku what the heck. Who did they take him for?

“The timing is ridiculous.” Gilbert said breaking the silence.

“Ah…yes…” Kiku admitted embarrassingly.

“Want to go out? Mei left you here any way.”

“Are you asking me out on a date Gilbert-san?” Kiku asked with a very faint smile.

“Ja. Of course. Why wouldn’t I? I already said I liked you.” Gilbert admitted.

“Ah…but that was through text.”

“You did the same. So do you like me too?”

Kiku found himself fidgeting but managed to mutter a, “ _yes_ ”.

The albino grinned widely. He felt his heart flutter at that. “Great. So I’m assuming Mei texted you something similar to what some of my friends said…?”

The shorter male found himself getting red again.

“Ha, are you going to blush every time? It’s cute.” Gilbert teased.

“Gomen… Mei-san can be indecent.”

“It’s not indecent. When two people usually like each other, it’s okay to kiss no?”

“Well, yes but… oh.” Kiku realized that their friends had indeed suggested the same thing.

Were they really all up to date? _Amazing._

Gilbert tilted Kiku’s chin up and smiled. _Oh._

“Don’t get mad okay? I didn’t realize until recently but I wanted to do this for a while...”

Kiku closed his eyes shut when he saw the albino lean forward, and before they knew it their lips connected. Kiku’s first thought was, _whiskey?_ Ah that strange sweet, harsh taste of whiskey. It tasted honey flavored though, and Kiku’s saliva tasted of cherry pastries, a strange combination indeed. Their lips clashed, their noses awkwardly bumped into one another, Gilbert found him chuckling under his breath which sent tingly sensations down Kiku’s throat. The Japanese male found himself wondering if Gilbert had been drinking before bed? He hoped not.

Their kiss was fairly slow, gentle; testing each other, trying to see what was okay and what was not. Gilbert eventually held onto the short male’s waist and pulled him closer eliciting a squeak from Kiku which Gilbert took advantage of by letting his tongue roam. The Japanese found himself wrapping his arms around the albino’s neck and eventually, when he was deep within the awkward and sloppy kiss, tangled his fingers in the short silver strands of hair. The albino purred in delight at that. Gilbert’s features were so rare; the Japanese male couldn’t help but really find it attractive. They breathed in each other’s oxygen, their kiss becoming more heated, finding each minute more intoxicating. Both had come to the sudden realization that they had to gasp for air eventually so they sadly broke apart.

Both males were left panting and Gilbert couldn’t stop grinning happily. Kiku simply tried to calm himself.

“T-That was awesome. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll be kissing you more often.”

Kiku found himself softly smiling at Gilbert’s response. “I hope you don’t mind me kissing you as well Gilbert-san.”

And they leaned into one another again, possibly hoping to reenact what they did until there was a loud knock at the door that made Kiku jump and latch onto Gilbert. Before Gilbert even called out—

“YO Gilbert! It’s Alfred. Antonio and Francis asked me to come over to find out if you already made out with that Japanese guy you’re crushing on from the bar.”

The smaller male looked over to Gilbert with narrowed his eyes, although the voice sounded _familiar_ and the name…

“I swear… _mein gott_ who the hell else did Francis tell?! Does the whole neighborhood know too?!” Gilbert grumbled.

Kiku let out a good laugh. “I believe at this rate that is true.”

When Gilbert opened the door after Kiku stepped away, there was a chipper looking male, with dirty blond hair, sky blue eyes, and glasses.

“A-Alfred-san?” Kiku said wide eyed.

“KEEKS! Yo, what? Gilbert, you were crushing on Keeks?! Small world man!” The American said with a smile.

At that moment Gilbert Beilschmidt really wanted to just punch Francis or anything else for that matter or maybe even Alfred for interrupting his time with his new lover.

“Why did everyone but me apparently know you?!” He said turning to said lover.

Kiku tilted his head in confusion along with Alfred.

Yes, the world was just messing with him, Gilbert was convinced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I really made Gilbert OOC here but I was really trying to make him a bit more serious/slightly awkward regardless of him being a bartender because he really liked Kiku and I figured he'd be the type who tried to be all cool and stuff but really was a huge flippin' dork who also found himself struggling with trying to be natural until Kiku started opening up a bit more. 
> 
> I tried. I tried. And Kiku was probably ridiculously OOC too. Oh the alcohol. I'll just say I've had my fair share with stronger than usual beer. And yeah, nothing can beat my love for German branded beers lololol. Oh yeah and I got disgustingly cheesy with the text messages lololol. So once again sorry for the lengthy chapter. Just know the next chapter will be super fluffy since the themes ALL SEEM TO BE REALLY CHEESY. *VOMITS* Good day :D


	17. Day 17 - Spooning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know this is supposed to be cute fluffy stuff right? 
> 
> Okay. Okay.
> 
> OHHH AND I FINALLY BUMPED IT UP TO MATURE what's UP? Lol. I won't go too crazy. I promise. This chapter has some errr.... content so you're warned. NOTHING CRAZY I SWEAR.
> 
> And P.S. during times of intimacy I always like them to use their actual human names so if you see the instant switch then that's why. You'll see what I mean...

Were they a communicative pair? That was hard to say. It depended on the situation because they did talk to each other about a variety of things. Japan didn’t like to show much of his raw emotion. The thought of troubling a loved one with his own problems and emotions—well he’d rather deal with things on his own like he always had. He had always been alone; Japan would say he enjoyed it regardless if he now had friends. He still tended to miss those times to himself. He was definitely used to it. Japan was the master of neutrality after all, but truth be told he started letting out much more of his emotion when he began interacting and making friends. Little by little those onyx colored eyes that were hollow-like had a small gleam in them every time he spoke to someone close. They have more emotion in them compared to when Prussia first met him at least. Italy could definitely vouch for him.

As for Prussia, he was almost the same as Japan if not worse. He definitely never thought of showing his weakness to anyone. Not just because he wanted to be strong and show it, but because he also did not want to burden those around him. He felt it wouldn’t be necessary, that he could handle whatever came his way on his own and if fate were cruel to him then he’d deal with it somehow and make the best out of everything. He was also used to the feeling of loneliness, much like Japan, but one would argue it wasn’t something he much enjoyed or asked for, it was more of a front. He was a hard worker who climbed to the top and had to deal with his own battles day by day. He’d much rather ignore and lie to himself along with others about any troubles or subconscious fears of his. Why else would he have an outer personality that he’d use most of the time to mask his true nature? Not many people knew his inner personality, his true self, the one he’d show when he truly felt comfortable. Prussia was truly a misunderstood person, a misunderstood nation.

So were they communicative with one another? They worked on it, but they hadn't exactly talked about their fears or troubles with one another. While they had an established relationship, they knew they were strong on their own. The only times they would even speak of such topics were when either of them would be on the verge of a meltdown, which was truly rare. Japan was more of a silent comforter, while Prussia would switch from silent to affectionate sweet talker. It really depended and it apparently was one of those weeks. The week itself hadn’t been a chipper one. Prussia had been acting odd for a while and not the good kind. Sure, the timeline itself wasn’t a happy one. The 2nd world war was getting put behind them little by little and they were able to see each other again after a long while apart...

While Japan should have been happier to be reunited he couldn’t help but wonder why—why did it feel like Prussia was getting further and further away? Why did it feel like he would fade away at any moment? While Japan never really poked information out of him (unless necessary), he knew something was off. They were always so natural around one another and while Prussia was much better at being perceptive, Japan was no novice in that area. Seeing the other less energetic, simply very compliant with everything, not his usual rowdy self, no real humor or bite behind his words, it was _odd_. It just wasn’t Prussia and Japan was worried.

Maybe he hadn’t spoken to him about anything because Japan was still healing from his own wounds and scars, from the damage left behind by him and the rest of allies. He had no clue, but that wasn’t how their relationship or even friendship should have been to begin with. It wasn’t how they started out. Wasn’t Prussia always telling Japan to not suppress his emotions? There were so many things they still didn’t share despite knowing each other for a long time. It wasn’t until he got snapped out of his thoughts when he felt fingers weave through his hair.

“Is something wrong Japan? You’ve been really quiet.” The albino asked lowering his head and turning to look at Japan who looked up and met with his gaze.

Ah, there they were. The familiar eyes Prussia had started becoming familiar with _once_ again. Those hollow-like eyes Japan had when he wanted to convey nothing at all or when he had nothing to truly convey. They had been sitting on the bed in complete silence. There was that natural good type of silence every now and then between them where they’d serenely enjoy one another’s presence and then there was that strange tense silence. For some odd reason Prussia felt the second one.

“Gomen. I was just thinking that Prussia-kun has been very distant lately.” The Japanese said not breaking eye contact.

Prussia flinched. So that’s what it was about…

“Huh? What do you mean distant? I haven’t.” He lied.

Japan faintly smiled back. “You do not have to lie, if you do not wish to speak about it—”

“I called you over here to just relax with you, can’t I do that?” The albino said with a hint of—Japan wasn’t sure if it was irritation or just a hint of _fear_? He sounded almost desperate, pleading.

“Of course you can Prussia-kun.”

He wouldn’t push further into it. It wasn’t his business, even if he noticed the _signs_ every now and then, even if he noticed silent tears fall here and there, and even if at the same time he was hiding his own pain. If Prussia didn’t want to talk then it was fine.

* * *

 

Prussia savored every inch of soft porcelain skin that turned pink as he bit, licked, and tasted. He was addicted and wanted to claim his lover by leaving permanent marks on him (which sadly were not and would fade with time, he knew that, but he liked thinking they wouldn't). All he could think and mentally chant to himself was _"Mine mine mine, Kiku, Kiku, Kiku"_ and felt the smaller male flinch at hearing the other's thoughts being said out loud by impulse.  
  
Hearing the different noises the Japanese made under him encouraged him more though. Japan was simply embarrassed at the lewdness of it all but gave into the pleasure nonetheless because this was Prussia... The person he could give himself to fully, the person he handed himself over to and knew would treat him right, the one who somehow understood him, his partner. Prussia felt the smaller male tremble under him oh so close to his climax yet not wanting it to end as they simply teased one another. They hadn't even really gotten started.  
  
There was something different in Japan that night, something desperate hidden in the corners of those endless onyx eyes, and Prussia was not entirely sure why the desperation was there at all as he took his sweet time to explore every inch of him. Japan just didn't want the moment to ever end. He wanted to stay as connected to Prussia as humanely possible. It was such a magical feeling, the warmth and gentleness of his touch along his skin.  
  
" _Kiku.._." he whispered into the smaller male's ear, smirking against the shell, nibbling at the lobe. Japan sighed into the darkness of the room, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes as he arched his throat to Prussia. He hoped the other wouldn’t comment on it or notice and felt relief wash over him as the albino kissed his Adam's apple and licked a trail down his throat, humming against his collarbone.  
  
"Ah…—Gilbert-kun," Japan gasped.  
  
Prussia grinned in response. "What's wrong?" He said in a teasing tone well aware that his tongue was at work and savored at Japan’s taste.  
  
The smaller male scoffed. "Y-You know that alwa-ah! A-Always—makes me weak," he pointed out.  
  
"Ja and it turns me–"  
  
"Shh..." Japan smiled softly, before leaning up to capture the albino's lips. He breathed into the kiss and fingers trailed down his lover's pale yet well toned muscular arms. "Let us appreciate our time together."  
  
As soothing as the tone was it made Prussia pause in the kiss and he looked at Japan with a mixture of confusion and worry.  
  
"Is something actually wrong?" He blinked looking at the other as he continued. "If it was about me feeding Pochi some of my food yesterday then I won't do it again just say the word. I swear!"  
  
"No." Japan frowned, pouting his lips. "I wasn’t even aware you did that." The Japanese chuckled.  
  
"Oh. Well I knew that. I just wanted to let you know like the good person that I am!"  
  
His chuckle got slightly louder knowing how his partner wanted to keep up the act.  
  
Prussia pouted but mischievously smiled shortly afterward. He proceeded to biting lightly at the juncture between Japan’s neck and shoulders, eliciting a gasp.  
  
"Couldn't hear you there Kiku~"  
  
"T-That wasn't fair," Japan replied abruptly, his fingers already made short work of Gilbert's clothes taking a nice feel of the albino's pectorals. "But about feeding Pochi food—"  
  
"Aww... Could it at least wait until after this?" he grumbled, already regretting confessing his mischief to the other, but Japan tugged him into another kiss, more solid and bruising and desperate. The smaller male smiled into it and wrapped his legs around Prussia's lower body, bucking lightly. The albino groaned at the friction; Japan's eyes fluttered closed and his lips opened for the other's tongue.  
  
"You're right," Japan mumbled as he guided Prussia's hand with his own down to undo his own trousers and pants. His erection sprung free, already leaking pre-come. God, Prussia hadn't even known he needed Japan that badly until that moment.  
  
"R-Really?" he echoed vaguely, as he fumbled in the trouser pocket for the condom. Prussia hadn't expected the other to agree so quickly. "I mean if you really want to talk about this then–"  
  
"No. I simply agree that there are other _priorities_ at hand." Japan said hinting with a teasing smile. He spread his legs afterwards and _wow_. When the Japanese was compliant and ready—that really turned him on... so different from his timid and withdrawn nature... He was mesmerized. Japan sighed as Prussia inserted a finger and then two shortly after, scissoring and loosening him.

"Ah–nngghh..."  
  
The albino's fingers paused at that. He couldn't help but admire the flushed male under him writhing in pleasure. He was gorgeous. It wasn’t until Japan pleaded for Prussia to be inside him after a few more moments of prepping. Why wouldn’t he comply? He swiftly wrapped the condom on his cock, lubing himself up.  
  
Prussia then kissed Japan all the more tenderly, and savored the quiet noises he made when he finally thrust into him and repeated the same action in different motions. As he moved a bit more rougher, he noticed the shine and glistening sweat from Japan. He looked so beautiful so brilliant even with his hair slightly soaked and stuck to his front. And Japan was his...all _his._ The Japanese was certainly right to say they should cherish their time together. He didn’t know when he’d suddenly stop exi—he stopped that thought and for a brief moment he wondered if his lover sensed it…  
  
It was only after they reached their euphoric climaxes that they clung onto one another not wanting to separate despite Prussia having some of Japan’s seed on him, he hadn't cared. It was then that he saw the smaller male lower the expressionless mask he usually had and cried against his shoulder, arms clinging as if he didn't want Prussia to ever go. And that was when reality hit him. Japan _did_ know, but he still went on wanting to keep what little happiness they had. They both suffered greatly after their losses, though Prussia would say Japan still suffered silently cursing himself, punishing himself.

He noticed the scars that refused to leave his creamy white skin, but Japan also noticed the unhealed wounds that took much longer to heal on Prussia, he noticed how easily Prussia would catch an illness and it’d sometimes take more than a week to go away. They both knew things would just get worse but tried to be optimistic. He knew that Japan was aware of the limited time. How he wished to have possibly met Japan even sooner. He wouldn’t have changed anything else except the time, _possibly_. Part of him was jealous of Netherlands being able to spend his isolation time with Japan, and yet Netherlands was not the one here right now, thank goodness. He supposed he'd just cherish whatever he had left. A moment of weakness for the one he loved… There was no reason to bother his younger brother anymore. He had taught him all he knew, he'd definitely become an even greater nation. He'd grow from the past mistakes, from the defeats. He knew Germany would stay strong despite it all.

* * *

 

They still hadn’t spoken about _it_. They simply wept in silence during times of weaknesses and this time, it was not Japan who broke, but Prussia.

Japan eventually broke out of his trance; he realized that he was actually needed at the moment. It all honestly happened too quickly for him to process but he did what he physically could. He wrapped an arm around the albino and brought him in close. Prussia had immediately latched on, his own arms wrapping around the smaller male’s waist and burying his head into his shoulder. Actual tears were staining Japan’s shirt but that didn’t matter. He began rubbing his hand up and down Prussia’s back in an effort to comfort him, bringing his other arm around to envelope him in a delicately gentle hug.

It worked, somehow because Prussia started to calm down and the sobs died down as well, leaving the room in its quiet state once again. Sniffles could be heard but they were muffled. Nothing was said, nothing had to be said. They both knew. Japan continued to softly rub his back and rested his cheek on Prussia’s shoulder as well, closing his eyes and empathizing somehow.

Eventually they broke apart as Prussia eyed Japan wearily. He leaned back and lay down, staring up at the ceiling with puffy eyes. He hadn’t ever cried that hard, even when he felt truly lonesome and abandoned, even when he knew he would no longer be a nation, even if he knew he was simply waiting to fade away. He had no true regrets though, he lived and that was all that mattered right? It was oddly relieving. He wasn’t crying anymore, but Japan could still read him like an open book at the moment, so vulnerable, such a rare sight.

Japan leaned back and lay down next to him, staring up at the ceiling while he cautiously reached over and gently grabbed Prussia’s hand, reassuring him, letting him know he’d definitely stay. It was still silent.

Prussia turned on his side, facing away from Japan. He felt relieved yet embarrassed at showing that side. While he did feel comfortable to be himself around his lover, his moments of true weakness were different but even so he tugged on the Japanese’s hand to roll him over as well, pulling his arm to wrap around his waist. Japan faintly smiled at the gesture and got the hint as he nestled behind him, burying his nose and pressing his chest to the albino’s back. Prussia smiled at this and leaned back against him, holding on tight to his hand as he let out a content sigh.

“ _Thank you_ ,” Prussia whispered, closing his eyes to finally let sleep take over. Japan leaned himself forward to reach for the other’s neck and lightly kissed it as he whispered, “ _Aishiteru_ , Prussia-kun…”

Light snores replied back, letting Japan know Prussia passed out, or so he thought. It was only a few minutes later when the Japanese was on the verge of sleep himself that he heard a soft whisper into the quiet room say, “ _Ich liebe dich auch_ ”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trolololol 
> 
> Wasn't all that bad right?


	18. Day 18 - Doing something together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the only reason I even chose this was because IT'S BEEN SUPER HOT LATELY AND I REALLY WISH I HAD BEEN KIKU OR GILBERT IN THIS STORY. 
> 
> *projects own desires through OTP*

They had finally made it to their destination. It had been Gilbert’s idea to head to the beach that day seeing as the weather had been scorching hot. They were with Alfred, who honestly decided to tag along since he so happened to be there when the suggestion was thrown around to Kiku as to what they could do seeing as they had the week off. Then Gilbert figured if Alfred was going why not invite his brother and Feliciano? Alfred had invited Francis and Arthur but the two were apparently already away on a trip. Ludwig ended up being dragged along by Feliciano while Feliciano suggested inviting Elizabeta and Roderich. So that’s how they all ended up together. The clouds cleared away just as they reached the beach. The rays of sun fell hot and unimpeded on the waves, sand, and exposed skin.

"Wow, it's going to just get hotter today isn’t it," Elizabeta remarked, hitching her bag up more comfortably on her shoulder while wearing her light green one piece swimsuit. "I'm glad I remembered to bring the beach umbrella." She smiled.

“Ah…we’re finally here?” Roderich said a bit quite out of breath while grabbing a handkerchief from his short pocket as he wiped a few drops of forming sweat on his forehead.

“Ve~ I’m glad we’re all here!” Feliciano said as he wiggled around happily.

“Roderich dear, we’re here so you can just relax.” She lightly patted his back.

Everybody knew if Elizabeta hadn’t dragged him along or better yet, sweet talked him into going he would have definitely stayed home. Gilbert snickered as he saw the Austrian a bit out of breath.

“What exactly are you laughing at you fool?” Roderich said.

“You. Kesesese! Specs you’re really out of shape huh?!” Gilbert grinned cheekily.

“I am NOT!” He defended.

“Are too!” The albino replied as he poked fun.

Ludwig sighed in frustration as he pulled his brother’s ear. “Bruder, not now.”

“Lutz?! Ow!” The albino pouted. “No fun at all! You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“There are no sides…”

“We finally made it here. You’re not starting a fight on my watch.” The Hungarian woman said glaring.

“What did I DO!?” Gilbert said frowning. “Not my fault he’s such a pansy—OOOF!”

Kiku harshly poked at his partner’s gut. Gilbert could only give a look of betrayal towards the Japanese. Everyone was against him!

"Just remember guys, no lounging," Alfred warned them.  "It’s gonna be _fun_ today! Haha!"

" _Lounging?_ Alfred-san soaking up the sun can be enjoyable as well." Kiku said proudly as they dumped their things down on the sand.

Gilbert shot Kiku a wicked look that sent shivers tingling up and down the smaller male’s spine. _Oh no._  

"Oi, race you guys to the water!" The albino shouted.

 _Oh no,_ physical activity. Now, Kiku would have definitely not participated. He would have most definitely stayed behind with Ludwig and Roderich as they made themselves comfortable on the towels and under the umbrellas they were setting up because Kiku was most certainly not an athlete. If anything, he was average at best, but he was not exactly an energetic or enthusiastically active person.

Everybody but those two took off before even pausing to think except Kiku, and he really did agree that he was getting too old for that sort of stuff. If it hadn’t been for Alfred literally pulling him along—they were grown adults racing to the water, who would have figured? Dimly, Kiku was aware of Gilbert rushing past them as they trotted behind; his eyes, however, were on Feliciano and Elizabeta. She had started out in a sprint and she was running as hard as she could, pushing her body like the competitive woman she was, sucking in air and lunging forward, determined to get to the water first as her mind seemed to expand with pure thrill.

Feliciano had actually been close behind her. She cried out in excited frustration as she saw Gilbert and Alfred pulling ahead of each other; Kiku had somewhere along the way told Alfred to pull ahead and not mind him please and thank you, that he would get there eventually. Gilbert suddenly swerved around sharply when he realized the Japanese hadn’t been with Alfred anymore.

Kiku flinched as he realized that Gilbert was blocking his path, and he struggled to pull himself up, but instead he crashed straight into the albino unable to stop. Before he even had a chance to recover his balance, Gilbert had scooped him up in his arms and was now running towards the water again. Okay, his plan was not to get into the water despite him packing extras, but the people he had come along with—damn it. Why were a variety of his friends so playful?

Not to mention Gilbert could switch from a really stern and mature person to extremely childish and playful in the blink of an eye. Kiku wondered how the heck the albino made everything look easy, especially carrying him. He would have told him to put him down but truthfully the smaller male was exhausted. He felt awfully useless at that moment. Kiku barely noticed that Alfred, already among the waves, was gloating about his victory completely unaware that it was not a race anymore. Elizabeta came in second and happened to be asking for a rematch against the blond, while Feliciano just started splashing around in the water with a floating tube.

Gilbert splashed straight into the water with Kiku, but as his legs hit deeper water, and as Kiku started complaining after another while to get put down, a strong wave came unexpectedly and the unaccustomed weight of the wave combined with his lover’s caused Gilbert to stumble, and Kiku fell out of his arms with a splash. At that moment all Kiku felt was sudden _cold, cold, cold_ as he squeaked, though luckily that wave absorbed most of the shock of his fall any way. 

"Gilbert-kun! That…was very much cold. You should not have carried me here," Kiku said as he started shivering.

Gilbert couldn’t help but frown at seeing the smaller male like that. His arms came back around Kiku, and as much as Kiku didn’t like the public display he was actually quite cold. Before he instinctively wrapped his own arms around the solid warmth of Gilbert’s body, he noticed everyone else still minding their own business first—but then Gilbert leaned down and nibbled at Kiku’s neck when said arms wrapped themselves around him and that caused the Japanese to yelp in surprise as Kiku pushed the albino into the cold water by reflex.

Gilbert gasped before thinking and instantly got salty liquid up his nose and a bit in his mouth. He came up coughing and sputtering. Unable to say anything past the burning in his throat, so he scooped up some water with his hands instead, while Kiku looked horrified as he covered his face with his hands expecting the worse, the albino flung it towards the obnoxious laughter that was apparently coming out of Alfred’s mouth nearby.

Kiku eventually heard more coughing and a ‘ _what the hell man!’_ from Alfred, he uncovered his eyes and realized that water was not aimed towards him. By the time Gilbert had managed to extract himself from the small scene he realized they had a small audience as well, including Alfred. Their three friends were in the water nearby too. Ludwig had eventually joined in because Feliciano had dashed over telling him the water was great and to stop being a party pooper. He tried pulling Roderich along too but the man insisted he _take care_ of their belongings seeing as he feared the Italian would get Elizabeta to try to convince him. Though they could have easily argued that not many people were around that day but it never hurt to be cautious. Feliciano rested comfortably within a rubber inner tube with Ludwig by his side, while Elizabeta simply observed the three.

"Interesting," Elizabeta commented.

"Ve~ that was cute but poor Gilbert," Feliciano noted. “All he wanted was to show his love!”

"Ah, but shame on you Gilbert, you should have kept your intentions pure. I saw you nibbling on that tender neck. Although, I never do mind PG-13-rated acts going UP," she said smiling.

"Elizabeta-san!" Kiku said, feeling his face flame.

“Ah…can we just let it go? My bruder knows better than to do anything else.” Ludwig said half hoping he was right and half knowing he probably wasn’t.

“Oi, Lutz, at least look convinced. I wasn’t doing anything inappropriate! But even if I was, why were you guys looking, hm?” Gilbert said defensively.

“It was just really funny and worth it seeing Keeks push you into the water like that!” Alfred said grinning again.

Feliciano folded his hands on the edge of the inner tube and rested his chin on them, smiling.  "Ah, this is fun and relaxing. I’m glad you came in the water too Luddy!~"

Ludwig couldn’t help but smile at the cheerful male next to him. “Uh ja. It’s no problem I also wanted to freshen up.”

Elizabeta smirked as she floated around them. “Oh? You’re awfully protective aren’t you~? Why don’t you just be honest, Ludwig. You were afraid of Feliciano getting washed away by a wave!”

“Hm? Ve~ what are you talking about Elizabeta?” Feliciano said as he lifted his head off the tube.

“He said—”

“Elizabeta please don’t!” Ludwig pleaded.

The female giggled. “He said the only reason he decided to even tag along and risk getting sunburned despite him putting on sun block was for you to be safe in the water and enjoy yourself because you’re that type of carefree fun loving guy.” She stuck out her tongue at the blushing blue eyed German. “Sorry Ludwig~ it was too cute not to say!”

“Aw! Luddy that’s really thoughtful! Thank you! That makes me really happy,” Feliciano floated much closer as he wrapped his arms around the blushing Ludwig.

“Um…it’s really not a big deal.” The German said awkwardly shifting around.

Elizabeta smiled and silently cursed herself for leaving her cell phone in her bag. She would kill for pictures of these moments. Everyone was in their swimming trunks and they got shirtless before running towards the water! Nice wet slick back hair, yes, yes it was perfect. She needed her phone.

"Oh, the horror," Gilbert said grumpily pouting.

Kiku raised an eyebrow. “I thought you liked seeing Italy-kun being affectionate with your brother? I must admit it was quite endearing to watch. It’s a shame I do not have my phone with me at the moment.”

Gilbert laughed at the response.

“Ja, but seeing them like that makes me want to hold you too,” The albino pouted as he crossed his arms against his bare chest not finishing his sentence as he huffed.

Kiku sighed. He was about to pat Gilbert’s head affectionately when—

"Here, Gilbert," Alfred said grinning as he picked up a dripping high-powered water gun that had previously been concealed behind the floater he so happened to be using too. "I'll put you out of your misery before it even begins! Meet your maker and surrender to me, haha!"

"Mein gott Alfred, you cheater! That’s my line!" Gilbert howled, making a break for the shore, where his own water gun was still buried somewhere among their heap of bags and towels.

Kiku mused. He wondered why Alfred and Gilbert even brought along water guns to begin with, but they had just answered his question. He honestly wondered about their mental ages at times but lightly smiled at how full of life they both looked. 

Alfred pursued Gilbert with fits of laugher, leaving Kiku to exchange a glance with Elizabeta.

“Well, aren’t you going to join them?” She asked curiously.

“Eh? No…I’m much too old for this.” Kiku said as he sneezed. “But I do believe I’m going to get a towel. I hadn’t planned on getting soaked,” he frowned.

Elizabeta frowned as well. “Oh Kiku, you’re still young. Stop sounding so old! At least come back over here and keep me company if you end up being lonely. Ludwig and Feliciano seem to be having some form tickle fight.” She said as he looked over giggling at the pair.

Ludwig was having his own fit of laughter pleading for Feliciano to stop.

“But I like it when Luddy laughs! Ve~”

As Gilbert and Alfred chased each other across the beach, Kiku came back to where Roderich was sitting as the Austrian read a book.

“You look quite exhausted Kiku.” Roderich said as he glanced away from his book to look at a soaked Kiku. “I’m sure that idiot had something to do with it?”

Kiku faintly smiled. “He meant well. I was never one to be extremely active. It’s quite rare when I am. The water gun fight looks fun but I am actually quite tired from fighting against the waves themselves.”

Roderich gave a sympathetic nod. “I don’t know how you deal with him.”

“He’s quite knowledgeable and a good person to converse with.” Kiku admitted as he spread his towel down along with grabbing another to dry himself while taking off his wet t-shirt under the umbrella.

Roderich snorted. “Well, that’s quite _rare_ but I suppose when he wants to be.”

Kiku smiled. “Hai…but his playful side is still endearing.”

Roderich said nothing to that as he put his focus over to his book again.

Kiku finally sat down to apply more sun block on himself. He figured it had been a while since he last put some on. The rhythmic motions consumed his attention as he spread it across his face and neck, down his arms, and across his now bare and lean torso. He was just starting on his right thigh while raising his shorts a bit when an appreciative whistle broke through his thoughts. He immediately froze. Alfred and Gilbert had apparently noticed what he was doing. For some reason a big rush of embarrassment coursed through him. Why must the simple act of applying lotion on himself suddenly become the focus?

He was merely doing it for simple precaution to protect his skin; now there was something... _more_ about it, and at the same time more intimate, which made heat come back to Kiku’s cheeks when he saw Gilbert’s appreciative smile. Alfred immediately ran over to the Japanese’s side in the blink of an eye. “I forgot to put on sun screen! Aw man! I’m gonna get all red!”

Kiku let out a thankful sigh that Alfred at least wasn’t ogling him like his so called partner over there, but then again Alfred was hardly ever like that. Then again, neither was Gilbert, but he wondered when his lover’s curious ogling started—oh no, had he corrupted him?! _No way…_

"You both should continue chasing each other. It was quite amusing." Kiku suggested to them as he tried steering away from his lover’s crimson red eyes glancing over at him and the two males chuckled. 

“Nahhhh.” Gilbert said as he tossed his water gun over to Ludwig, who caught it but gave his brother a puzzling look.

After quickly and sloppily, if Kiku were to admit by mere speculation, applying sun screen to himself, Alfred grinned as he grabbed his gun again and shot water at Ludwig’s face while running away laughing obnoxiously. Ludwig, of course, not running away from a challenge along with the rude gesture, angrily chased Alfred. The truth of it was that hands down Ludwig would win the exchange as he was much better trained anyway, but he’d definitely have fun with training Alfred.

Gilbert came jogging over the sand to plop down on his knees beside Kiku. "Want me to get your back?" he offered, eyes sparkling. 

"Um..."  He would have liked nothing better, but part of him kept thinking it’d look too indecent especially when Roderich was still there.

He already felt strange with his skin so exposed out in the open, but he tried getting used to the idea that people did that at the beach. It was as if on cue, Roderich got up off from where he was sitting. “Ah, I suppose since you two will be here for a while, I’ll go over to Elizabeta. I believe she wants something.” He coughed and started walking away.

Kiku slightly tilted his head in curiosity because that was a bit too convenient. He looked over to the Hungarian female who started walking out of the water and she gave Kiku a good wink. The Japanese became flustered wondering what she was even insinuating.

“Don’t drown now, specs!” Gilbert teased.

The Austrian felt his vein pop as he quickly turned around with furrowed eyebrows. “Shut up. I am most certainly not like _you_.”

When the other had gone at a far enough distance Gilbert turned back over to Kiku.

"As I was saying, it’d only be fair if I helped you with your back. Just take it as a sorry for the previous incident in the water," he added persuasively as he grinned.

Ah, Kiku would never deny that grin. He softly laughed as he handed the albino the bottle and turned away, clasping his hands around his knees. For a minute neither of them said anything, and he was trying not to get too breathless with anticipation. Then second after second passed and nothing happened. He faintly pouted and glanced back over his shoulder.

At that instance Gilbert laughed mischievously and slapped a glop of cold lotion onto the small of Kiku’s back; the smaller male yelped and swatted his arm at him, though the angle was awkward. He laughed again and then unexpectedly kissed Kiku, an affectionate smack of the lips landing messily somewhere between his neck and his jaw. At that Kiku quieted in surprise, and Gilbert dropped the teasing. He shortly after applied the sun block with a reddened Japanese.

He took his time, his hands moving slowly over the creamy white flesh of his lover’s back, and it felt so good that Kiku couldn’t help but hum in delight. Gilbert’s hands really felt amazing as he moisturized his back. The albino felt the other starting to relax and he gently smiled. Gilbert then wrapped his arm around Kiku to pull him closer, and the shorter male was really too relaxed because he had his eyes closed at some point. Gilbert kissed his neck just below his ear in response. The Japanese shivered at the different form of contact completely ignoring his logic to just open his eyes.

The next minute, however, Gilbert broke the silence as he said, "Hm, not the taste I was expecting. You taste like this weird sun block, but you must be really _relaxed_ if I got away with a kiss. I wonder—" 

Kiku definitely opened his eyes after that and shifted in Gilbert’s arms to look back at him and huffily said, “Thank you for being so _considerate_ with your warning, Gilbert-kun. I will make sure to _not_ let my guard down.”

The albino frowned. “Aw come on Kiku…don’t be like that.”

But before Kiku could retort back Feliciano and Ludwig came by telling them they’d take care of things.

“Ve~ Gilbert could show you around the beach. You’ve never been to one anyway right?”

Kiku’s eyes widened. “Ah, hai…”

“Wait, what?” Gilbert turned to look at Kiku in disbelief, as if he’d said something unheard of. “Okay, we’re taking a walk.” He pulled the Japanese along.

“Ah, Gilbert-kun! Wait—”

They briefly stopped walking as Gilbert stopped in his tracks. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Gomen…I didn’t think it was relevant.” The Japanese said honestly.

“Ha! Well, I’m glad I got you in the water then!” He smiled as he pulled Kiku along again.

The shorter male felt his heart flutter. He really liked the scenery, how the sun started lowering itself in the sky as the hours passed. They walked into the edge of the water, so that when Kiku glanced back he could see their trail of uneven footprints stretching out behind them while they walked side by side.

They eventually walked a bit more above the shore as Gilbert would try to point out cool things about the beach, like the way the sunlight kept changing the color of the waves, but then he would usually interrupt himself by sneaking random kisses on Kiku. The shorter male would huff and puff telling Gilbert to stop doing that while smacking him. Eventually Kiku stooped down to pick up shells of different shapes, designs, and colors. He’d show them to Gilbert to admire and the albino would hold them up with gleaming eyes saying how awesome they looked. Kiku ended up carrying them in his swimming trunk pockets while they walked some more.

By the time they reached their friends again, Feliciano had started on a sand castle and Alfred was bringing him interesting things to embellish it with like shells and driftwood, even some random seaweed. They then turned around and waved at Kiku and Gilbert to head over and help.

Kiku grabbed a pail and began helping Feliciano make the sand mounds, while Gilbert bragged about how they were going to make the most _awesome biggest_ sand castle _ever_ now that he was there to help. Feliciano and Alfred came up with plans and building strategies that usually did not work, and were generally useless but Kiku and Gilbert ended up helping adjusting their plans. In the end Kiku and Gilbert dug a moat for their castle; while Feliciano traced artistic swirls and spirals onto the towers that were built with Alfred’s other odd symbols.

* * *

 

Eventually, everyone went off to do their own thing. Elizabeta and Roderich were talking to one another as the Hungarian female would nuzzle him every now and then while eating some sandwiches they had packed. Feliciano and Ludwig were sharing some ice cream while sitting across from said Hungarian and Austrian. Alfred ended up challenging Gilbert to a race again but in swimming this time. Kiku took the time to settle down with his book a few feet away from the group.

The warmth of the sun on his skin, though he had put on his spare shirt and spare shorts, and the page of the book he was slowly working his way through, all the background noises along with the cawing seagulls, the shouts and laughter of the other people on the beach along with his friends. There was constant noise of the waves crashing against the shores. It all merged into a single soothing symphony.

It wasn’t until a good fifteen minutes passed that he was broken out of his focus.

"Ve~ Kiku, you should at least eat some of the sandwiches Elizabeta and I made." Feliciano said with a hint of concern.

Kiku set his book down and smiled at his friend. “I’d be delighted to then.”

He crawled over to the group which was now sitting in a circle and Gilbert scooted over to make room for him to sit by. They shared a smile at one another as Feliciano handed him the sandwiches with some juice. It was really _nice_ , he was really glad to have come to the beach. Whether it would have been with just Gilbert or with all his friends, he’d happily admit it was really a lot of fun with everyone.

Things seemed to slow down a bit after they finished eating and finished teasing one another with embarrassing stories, though Alfred did a good job at telling the best stories of Francis and Arthur, who luckily were not present to shut him up. Gilbert actually fell asleep. He had lain down with his head on Kiku’s lap and closed his eyes when Kiku started stroking his hair. Eventually, Kiku picked up on the light snores coming from the albino and realized he was out cold. It gave the shorter male a warm, comforting feeling, with a hint of boldness touching him like that, but Gilbert had always reassured him it was the most soothing thing ever.

He seemed child-like in some ways, so innocent and happy; yet, the way Kiku felt as he studied the muscles in his arms, the way his broad shoulders, strong body, long legs took up too much of the beach towel he was lying on—Kiku shivered a little, he needed to not let his mind wander like that, but he couldn’t help it. While Gilbert was innocent at times, he certainly was far from being an actual child. And it didn’t help that they were all in more revealing clothing than usual due to their location. Though it was a pleasant feeling every time he was with Gilbert no matter where they were or what they did so he enjoyed every minute of every day that he could. Maybe next time he’d take Gilbert somewhere he’d never gone to before. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I do see Kiku as a playful person (depending on what exactly he's doing, because he can be that playful competitive type you know? Mostly competitive *cough*) I can also see him as the little hermit who likes to watch everybody else having a good time. Hehe. So I tried. As you can tell I just really love the Hungary/Austria/Germany/Italy BROT4 with Prupan LOL. As for me adding America in a lot of these randomly, I can't ever like really leave him out? Him and Kiku are really good friends too! I respect that :D.


	19. Day 19 - Working at a flower shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I switched the theme because "formal wear" is too boring of a theme for me, I'm SORRY. I have a one track mind and want a better focus okay? Anyway, I really kind of just let my mind wander with this. I will say I have read like tons of flower shop AUs so I'm going cliche here...

Every Monday through Thursday Kiku Honda worked at his friend Francis Bonnefoy’s flower shop with him. He always had a knack for gardening and plants in general. He had a garden of his own back at home. Flowers were such beautiful delicate things. Each with its own uniqueness, yet they were so quick to die out with improper care. Francis had been hiring and offered Kiku the job knowing he’d be perfect for it. The Frenchman had left on a trip for a few weeks with his fiance, so it’d been a true favor for Kiku to tend to the shop in his absence.

It wasn’t such a busy shop during the weekdays, it had customers every now and then, and of course there were regulars. He’d simply sit at the front desk reading, clean up around the shop, check on the flowers, or take phone orders. He only had one customer within the last hour of his shift before he closed, an old man asking for the price of a bouquet of orchids and Kiku went over to assist him.

The sun had set and Kiku had gone back to pruning lilacs as he had been doing before the customer had entered. He had started humming to himself to lighten up the mood. Kiku never minded tending to the flowers on his own, but he’d admit the flowers kept him better company than his own shadow. He wondered how things were going for Francis and his fiancé, Arthur. He wondered if he should have the leftovers from the morning as his dinner when he’d get home. He was really lost in his thoughts ranging from his friend Francis, to dinner, to reminding himself that he needed to walk his dog Pochi too, to responding back to his friend Alfred’s call. He hadn’t heard someone moving around the store, seemingly lost.

He must have spaced out, because there was a shadow falling over his hands, and oh—how rude…how could he just space out. What kind of customer service was that? Slowly, Kiku craned his head to look at said customer.

There was an obviously uncomfortable albino looking guy who seemed around his age that stood in front of him with a small bouquet of roses and a leather wallet in his fumbling hands. He was rocking back and forth, very purposely acting casual and well, Kiku wasn’t convinced at the act at all. He would have chuckled but that would have been very impolite so he kept his thoughts to himself. The albino’s eyes were darting from flower to flower, staring a little too long at the lilies, and Kiku really wanted to smile at least because the man looked almost child-like, though his features were quite a sight. White-silver like hair, pale skin, and crimson red eyes? Rare indeed. He was still attractive though, in Kiku’s head. And my goodness he was a nervous wreck.

His eyes darted to the Japanese’s, and both of their eyes widened at making contact. Kiku couldn’t stop thinking of how beautiful the albino’s eyes were though. They reminded him of ruby red jewels. They were filled with a fiery passion, with boldness, such liveliness, and yet his expression was completely—okay Kiku needed to stop getting passionate over a stranger’s unique eye color. Silence reigned, and Kiku held out his hand. The albino stared at it, wearing his red hooded sweater that obviously had the initials of the nearby college a few blocks away from his own home. Kiku should have stopped noticing things about this stranger, because a few seconds passed and he realized that said stranger looked confused.

“I apologize but…I’m going to need the roses, sir.” Kiku said pointing to the bouquet in the albino’s hands.

"Oh," he murmured, voice strong despite the awkwardness, "Yeah. I knew that."

Kiku took the offered roses. He rang them up, eyes dancing around the room, back to the albino. He seemed fidgety and Kiku normally wouldn’t have done this at all, because it was none of his business but he found himself handing back the roses and asking, instead of the price, "Ah, roses?" with a curious enough tone. He internally cursed himself in his native tongue. How _rude of him._

The other man looked at the Japanese with wide eyes. "Well," he began, in an even tone, "Everyone likes roses..." He scratched his head sheepishly. 

"That is true in some ways," Kiku said, "but roses can symbolize different forms of love depending on who you are giving them to and the occasion. I hope that whoever you are giving them to appreciates them. These are a beautiful batch.” He finally finished with a faint smile as he told the albino the price.

The man paid up and gave a crooked smile. “Thanks. I…I hope she accepts. I’ve never done this before, ha…”

Kiku raised both eyebrows. So he was inexperienced as well? He internally wished him luck as the male waved goodbye and was on his way.

* * *

 

A few days later passed. Saturday came around and the same albino returned with what was quite possibly the most troubled expression the Japanese had ever seen. The albino’s eyebrows were furrowed, eyes focused on his leather boots, still wearing his red hooded college sweater and his nostrils flared. Kiku wasn’t really in the condition to be a good listener, let alone have an actual conversation at that moment, but he’d definitely try. The customer always came first. It was the weekend, which meant there was a rush hour which just so happened to finish a few minutes before the man came in.

He hadn’t had tea since the morning. It was already closing in on the later afternoon. Kiku wondered why the man had such a troubled expression though. _Oh no_ , maybe the roses were bad? Maybe the guy’s girlfriend hated them? Maybe roses weren’t her favorite? Maybe the albino came to yell at him? Or worse, kick his ass… Kiku knew he shouldn’t have spaced out that day. He knew he should have given him advice!

But the man didn't start yelling angrily, even though he looked the type. Instead, he met Kiku's eyes for a few seconds and the Japanese slightly flinched. Then he began to wander throughout the store.

Kiku watched him, suspiciously, waiting for the sudden explosion of emotion. When five minutes passes, he sighed with relief, because the albino didn’t do what he thought but he was touching every flower in the shop and staring intensely at them. Kiku mentally scolded himself for even staring; he really was being rude with this stranger, but said stranger was loitering around the shop long enough for the Japanese to finish arranging a bouquet of sunflowers for display. They were apparently the flower for the day. He couldn’t help but look over again at the albino every now and then.

And exactly at 4:30 in the afternoon, an energetic dirty blond haired male with sky blue eyes and glasses walked in with his superman sweater and denim jeans along with another taller blond male with spiked up hair, a striped blue and white scarf, with a long open beige coat, and mostly casual clothing underneath. Kiku walked out of his counter with his blue apron to tend to the two males.

“Keeks! Hey man! Francis isn’t here?” The energetic blond with glasses said scoping out the shop.

The other blond sighed. “Don’t be a nuisance and just ask him what you came for.”

“But that’s just it. I was looking for Francis since Arthur didn’t wanna tell me where he was going and I figured he’d know. Arthur said he’d be back in a few weeks.” He pouted afterwards.

Kiku blinked a bit. “Um, Alfred-san?”

“Yeah?”

“Arthur-san didn’t tell you he was going on a trip with Francis-san?”

The other blond male groaned. “Kiku. He wouldn’t know the obvious answer if it hit him on the face.”

“Hey! That’s not true.” Alfred defended.

Both blonds looked at one another furrowing their eyebrows.

“Abel-san, Alfred-san, if you are going to argue I’d suggest you do it outside, please. I happen to have another customer here and I am working,” Kiku said sternly.

Abel sighed. “Right. Sorry.”

“Sorry Keeks, uh… could you give me some nice sunflowers then?”

Kiku’s eyes widened. “Sunflowers?”

“Yeah, a small batch please!”

“Hai…right away. And you Abel-san?” Kiku said turning to the taller blond.

“I…uh…” Abel scratched at his neck. “Well…I’d like a single tulip please.”

The Japanese faintly smiled. “Of course, I’ll be on my way.

He chose the most recent bouquet of sunflowers near the albino who so happened to take a glance over at the Japanese and then gave a brief look over to the other two blonds. Kiku paid no attention to it, but said, “If you need any help with anything I’d be glad to assist you after I finish up with these orders.” He then made his way over to the counter. The man could only watch as the Japanese had so much delicacy and finesse in his movements as he decorated the batch of flowers. He was almost hypnotized, but he couldn’t help but eye the other’s friends or uh, _customers_. The one he mainly eyed was the taller Dutch looking male. Who the heck only got one flower?

When Kiku was done, Alfred had said thank you very much and waved goodbye to Abel and the Japanese as he rushed out the door saying something about being late on meeting up with a friend at a cafe. Kiku had already guessed at who he was meeting up with since Alfred wasn’t as discreet as he thought he was. Kiku was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up and met with vibrant amber eyes.

“Ah, gomen Abel-san… I have your tulip here as well. Would you like a card with it? And a ribbon?”

The blond hadn’t said a word and looked over to his side. Was he— _blushing_? That was odd, especially for someone as serious as the Dutch. Kiku slightly tilted his head. “Abel-san? If it’s about the tulip there’s no need to worry, it’s the best of the bunch and it won’t cost you much at all.”

“No it’s not that. It’s just… it’s for _you_.” He said bluntly finally turning to make eye contact with the other’s warm onyx colored eyes.

Kiku’s eyes widened. Oh.Oh. Oh. _Oh._ He had no idea…

As much as the albino would have loved to continue eavesdropping, he decided to stop. It was none of his concern. The last thing he noticed was the Japanese bowing at his friend. He turned his attention to a batch of flowers that he hadn’t noticed before while making his way around the shop. Chrysanthemums? He remembered the Japanese’s name was “Kiku” on his name tag. His mouth curved into a smile at the realization. Maybe things were looking up after all.

The large Dutch male had left eventually and Kiku turned his attention to the albino who still happened to be around. He walked over to him.

“Did you still need help with picking a batch, sir?”

“Ah, uh…Kiku right?” The albino said squinting his eyes at the name tag on the Japanese.

Kiku nodded. “Yes that is my name.”

“You can call me Gilbert.” The albino said grinning.

“Ah, alright Mister Gilbert.”

The albino cringed. “That sounds really weird in English…Why not call me like you call your friends? With that honorific. You’re Japanese right? I like the way you said their names.”

The shorter male blinked a bit confused at the sudden familiarity that Gilbert was speaking to him with. Just the other day he had come in a nervous wreck and he came in with a troubled look today, but now he seemed fine?

“Um, if that is what you’d like then Gilbert-san.”

The albino smiled widely. “Thanks.”

“If I may ask, is there anything I can help you with? You’ve seemed troubled. Did it…not go well with your significant other?”

Gilbert suddenly shifted from one foot to the other. Moving around most definitely must have been a nervous habit of his.

"Well, I was rejected." He stated bluntly. "She…was actually just asked out by one of my other childhood friends."

Kiku kept his expression as neutral as possible, "Oh…I am terribly sorry to hear that.”

"Ah, it’s okay. I kind of figured I'd get rejected anyway. She never liked me that way. We were always just really good friends since we were kids and he…he really likes her too," Gilbert said with a hint of hurt.

Kiku stayed silent for a few more seconds. “It sounds like you really care for her.”

“Ja. I do, and I’m really happy for her too.” He grinned.

The shorter male said nothing more. He couldn’t even empathize.

“I know.” Kiku said abruptly. “Here you go, take this.” He handed Gilbert a single flower from a bouquet he had been arranging earlier.

“Huh? What for?” He asked raising both eyebrows.

“A symbol of friendship.” Kiku faintly smiled. “And to possibly sooth your troubles just a bit.”

“Troubles? Ha! I’m fine.” Gilbert said nonchalantly.

Kiku wasn’t convinced but said nothing more towards the subject.

“It’s free of a charge, Gilbert-san.” He held the flower up again closely.

“Thanks Kiku, I’ll take it anyway since I got a new friend with this. See you around.” Gilbert waved goodbye as he left the store.

Gilbert had no idea why he stuck around longer than he intended to. He had no idea why he even went to the flower shop in the first place, or why he was looking at the Chrysanthemums too and instantly thought of the Japanese, or why the flower Kiku gave him put a big smile on his face. He supposed it was because he got a new friend or maybe he just felt really relieved to finally let out his failure to somebody who hadn’t known him all that well and wouldn’t judge him. Whatever the reason he figured it was a nice start.  

* * *

 

Ever since that day Kiku gave Gilbert that flower, Gilbert had a sudden interest in the small flower shop that had a variety to choose from. He became more interested and curious. He eventually looked up the meaning of the flower Kiku had given him. It resembled a miniature lily, which was known as an _alstroemeria_. Those flowers were well known symbols of friendships. Gilbert couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture.

Every day after his classes he’d swing by and keep Kiku some sort of company, or sometimes even pick up calls while Kiku was tending to some customers. Kiku learned that Gilbert was actually quite helpful, despite his loud and confident outer character.

“Wait, so you go to the same college?” Gilbert asked as he leaned against the desk.

“Hai…I do.”

“Not going this semester or what?”

“No. I’m going for the winter though.”

“Oh, nice. Hey, maybe I’ll see you around there too!”

Kiku smiled. He found himself smiling and softly laughing to himself a lot more lately. He and Gilbert seemed to have a bit more in common than he would have guessed. Gilbert had also seemed to have perked up after a few weeks of getting to know one another. Abel and Alfred came to visit at separate times during the week. Kiku would always raise an eyebrow at how strange Gilbert would act towards the Dutch.

Abel sighed in frustration. “When the heck did he suddenly become your best friend?”

Kiku chuckled. “He’s a good friend that is all.”

“He’s not bothering you right?”

“No he is not. He’s actually been a lot of help during rush hours. Thank you for your concern though.”

“I'd help you too..."

"No, you need to focus on school and work." Kiku scolded.

"I know, but I care about you okay?” The Dutch said with a softened expression.

“I care for you as well, Abel-san. I really appreciate the sentiment.” The Japanese said with a light smile at the blond. “Do you not need to head over to your sister’s tonight?”

And at that moment Gilbert wanted to celebrate because the way Abel would always drag Kiku into his own little world annoyed the heck out of him, though he shouldn’t have been that way but hey, his awesome self was considerate enough to not butt in this time!

“Crap, your right… ah, alright. Want to head over my place tomorrow since it’s your day off? We could let our pets play with another like they always do.”

The Japanese nodded.

“Alright then, same time as usual. Have a good shift.” Abel lightly ruffled Kiku’s hair and walked out.

Gilbert gaped at the action.

“Hey! What the heck was that?” He walked over to the Japanaese.

Kiku blinked. “What is it Gilbert-san?”

“The hair ruffling thing…he didn’t get a pinch on the cheek or a stab in the gut.” The albino said furrowing his eyebrows.

“He does not treat me like a child.” Kiku said honestly.

“Ha! Hey, so does he like you? I never asked since…it’s not really my business but…”

Kiku stared at the albino with a neutral expression.

“What? Bad question?”

“No it is not and yes he has confessed to me.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened. He hated being right, but the fact it slightly bothered him he hated more. Okay, so maybe he started crushing on Kiku while helping him out with the flower shop for the past few weeks. He couldn’t help it, Kiku was adorable, and not just with his looks, his personality as well. Gilbert just wanted to scoop him up and take him home. He enjoyed the Japanese’s reactions. How he could elicit more emotion out of him and prove he wasn't just a stoic person, it was fun.

“So…what exactly—where do you guys stand? You’re both together?”

Kiku raised an eyebrow. “Gilbert-san, I’m sorry for asking but why are you so curious of my personal affairs?”

And a sudden voice as the door opened said, “Simple Mon Ch _e_ r~ he likes you.”

Gilbert and Kiku turned around to find none other than Francis Bonnefoy entering with a small bag.

“Francis?” The albino raised an eyebrow.

“Hmm, fancy seeing you here Gilbert. I am honored to find you in my shop and I see you’ve taken quite a liking to my sweet little Chrysanthemum here.”

Kiku felt his face heat up. “Francis-san, please do not call me that.”

“Aw…but it's what your name means, non?”

“Hai…but—”

“Pfff, this is your shop?” Gilbert interrupted. “I should have known better. You really did end up going on that trip with Arthur then?”

It all came together, Kiku’s friends coming in, the blond with glasses asking for a Francis and mentioning an Arthur. What a small world…

“Oui I did. It was splendid.” 

Gilbert smirked. “I can’t believe we knew the same guy.” He said to the shorter male.

Kiku sighed. “I’m sorry to ask this of you Francis-san but could I take an early leave for the evening?”

Francis blinked a bit a surprised at the request. “Oui, of course. You have done a magnifique job. My flowers all look so full of life and the shop is spotless. I really thank you for your hard work. I’d be lost without you.”

“Thank you for the praise but I merely did my job.”

"Oh no need to be modest." The Frenchman said with a smile.

Gilbert mentally cursed to himself. He wanted to get a bit more out of Kiku on where he stood with Abel, but oh well. They waved their goodbyes to Kiku as he left for the evening. Francis turned around and smirked at the albino.

“Trying to get information on Abel are we?” He teased. "I don't blame you, he really is protective of Kiku."

Gilbert lightly blushed. “You have ridiculous hearing Francy pants.”

“Gilbert, please do not call me that horrendous nickname.”

The albino cackled loudly.

“What happened with Elizabeta?” The Frenchman asked.

Gilbert grimaced at that. “Ah she’s with specs.”

“Oh. Well, not a bad choice either.” Francis mused.

“You’re only saying that because you used to have the hots for him too.”

Francis gasped. “Non…" he said looking a bit offended, but clearly not as much. "Okay just a bit. Would you like some advice on Kiku though? From what I know he’s single~”

Gilbert’s ears perked up as they spent the rest of the evening talking.

 

The albino had texted Kiku the next day asking him if he’d like to take a walk around the park in the evening. The Japanese had told him he’d be spending most of the day with Abel, but if he had time he’d let him know. Gilbert pouted at that response but it was true, he had overheard them after all. They didn’t get to meet with one another that night, but Gilbert figured he’d try out what he wanted to try out on Kiku’s next work day.

* * *

 

Kiku was sweeping the floor, inspecting flowers individually along the way during his shift. Francis was busy on the phone. There was barely any sun coming from down the street. Vehicles passed at the speed of light seeing as it wasn’t the rush hour, thank goodness. And then the door to the shop opened and as usual Gilbert came in wearing his red hooded college sweater that he seemed to love oh so much. He simply implored around the shop as usual after giving his usual big sunny grin. A few minutes shortly, the albino walked up to the counter towards Kiku.

"So I need flowers," Gilbert muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

“Any type you had in mind Gilbert-san?” Kiku asked.

The albino blushed and Kiku blinked in disbelief. Why the blush?

"You have Chrysanthemums right?"

The name rang an immediate bell in Kiku's mind.

"Hai…we do, they’re still in top condition," he answered trying not to hint at his confusion.

"Those, then." Gilbert said with a small smile.

“What color would you like?”

“Pink, please.”

Kiku knew the precise location of every flower in the store. He went for the soft pink flowers. Kiku felt Gilbert’s eyes on him as he coordinated through the shop, but he didn't mind. It was easy to ignore. When the Japanese came back, he handed him the flowers in a neatly decorated bundle and quickly avoided eye contact. For some reason, the thought of Gilbert getting flowers again—was he in love with someone else? Or was it the same childhood friend…maybe she was single again? Ah, why did it bother him though—maybe because the albino had genuinely seemed so happy each day he’d seen him without getting romantically involved again. 

"So," Gilbert started, "How much will this cost?"

He looked up at Gilbert, his uneven strands of silver hair across his forehead, and his awkward smile. Kiku couldn’t help but feel shy and slightly inappropriate at appreciating this. 

"Free," the Japanese blurted out without any thought.

 _Oh no._ Well, he'd make sure to put his own cash in the register.

"Mmm," hummed Gilbert.

Kiku watched as the albino lifted up the flowers, and he was fidgeting again. Oh, the scenario looked really similar to when he had first come in asking for roses. How odd. Gilbert’s jaw worked without a voice, like he was about to ask what was up, when Gilbert began speaking in a low voice.

"So remember the first day you gave me an alstroemeria?” Kiku nodded, and quite frankly was surprised at how he knew the name. “Well, I looked up the meaning and I know it has a lot of meanings, but it’s mainly known as a friendship flower.”

Kiku smiled. “Yes, it is.”

“So I decided this time I’d return the favor.” Gilbert handed the bouquet of Chrysanthemums to Kiku.

“You’re returning them to me? I suppose I can find better ones…” The shorter male said lightly frowning.

"Nein!" Gilbert huffed, frustrated. "These just... really fit you is all.” He said embarrassed. “I thought you looked very pret—I mean, it’s your name in Japanese and that’s pretty awesome. The pink ones even stand for cheerfulness, good friendship and even—enduring love.” He muttered. “Tenderness, kindness, and warmth… they just remind me of you a lot.”

Kiku’s eyes widened. “Gilbert-san, I never knew you knew the meaning of flowers.”

“It’s because I just wanted to have more things to talk about…”

That made Kiku even happier. “So then…they’re for me?”

"Oh, mein gott, Kiku,” Gilbert groaned. “Ja…” 

The albino avoided his eyes, blushing from the neck upwards. The Japanese found this sight highly adorable, even the rough German accent that would come out every now and then.

“Arigatou Gilbert-san…they’re beautiful.” Kiku said taking a light sniff from the bouquet.

The albino really did think the flowers suited him, Kiku looked so delicate and refined, like a pretty flower, and yet he realized within the course of working with him, he was anything _but_ delicate. His movements were what made him come off as that. He was a hard worker and he really admired his patience dealing with all types of people. Francis was lucky to have him.

“So I can still pay for them if you want. I’d just really like you to put them in your room or something and think of the awesome me."

Kiku knew that Gilbert had the habit of referring to himself as “awesome” every time he wanted some type reassurance or praise. It was really endearing, along with the excessive fidgeting.

“I’ll be keeping the flowers then," the shorter male said happily.

"Ah," muttered Gilbert, hesitantly walking to the stand behind the counter. Kiku was literally next to him now. "So…about that Abel guy…”

Kiku’s stomach fluttered. “What about Abel-san?”

“What happened when he gave you the tulip?”

“I kept the flower, but I couldn’t accept his feelings.” Kiku responded back just as softly.

“Oh. I see…”

He was lucky the shop was empty at that moment because they were really in their own little world.

And then, he finally looked up to see the same crimson red eyes he grew curious about since day one staring right back at him. His eyes widened when Gilbert got closer. Kiku’s heart started racing because he felt a bundle of emotions all at once hit him along with the albino's warm breath. Before he knew it, he heard another whisper saying, _“I’m going to kiss you, sorry…”_ and soft lips landed on the corner of his mouth. Kiku smiled into the missed kiss as he moved his whole face to align with the Gilbert's.

"Maybe I can help with that." The Japanese said teasingly.

Gilbert blushed out of embarrassment but nodded as they connected lips once more and their bodies molded into one another by holding onto each other. The kiss only lasted a good minute at most—

“Oh! I am delighted to see you two finally connecting!” Francis said smirking as he moved around a few roses.

Kiku lightly pushed Gilbert away and bowed at Francis. “Gomen…Gomen! This was truly irresponsible of me, you can fire me if you’d wish or I can quit—”

Gilbert and Francis looked at one another in disbelief.

“Kiku! Kiku dear, non! I wouldn’t fire you. I helped Gilbert a little with all of this. The customers won’t start coming until after four. You still have a good thirty minutes if you’d like to get more private time.” Francis waggled his eyebrows.

The shorter male blushed at the indecent suggestion. “No…I’m fine.”

Gilbert sighed. “So, need help cleaning or something Francis?” He asked changing the subject which Kiku muttered a _thank you_ to him for.

And then the door swung open from the shop getting their attention.

“Francis told ME! Gilbert Beilschmidt, why didn’t you ever tell me you had such a cutie of a boyfriend?!” A green eyed brunette with long wavy hair walked in.

The albino’s jaw dropped as he turned to glare at Francis. “Why would you tell _her_ out of all people?!”

The female walked towards Kiku and the gleam in her eyes made him want to run, but he figured it'd be too rude of him to do that.

“Hello there Kiku! I’ve heard all about you! You’re so much cuter in person. My name is Elizabeta. I’m Gilbert and Francis’s good friend. Details about you would be very nice.”

“Don’t do it. It’s a trap. Once you’re in you can never get out. She’s a demon and she will—OW!” A quick smack to his head silenced him.

Kiku’s eyes widened. The woman was to be feared! He couldn’t help but lightly tremble. Elizabeta looked back to the shorter male with pity.

“Oh, don’t be afraid! I only hit Gilbert because he can say stupid things every now and then.”

While Kiku believed that to be, though he would never say that to Gilbert, he wondered if things were really okay for him to be talking to his new—uh lover's— Boyfriend's childhood friend and ex crush? That sounded so weird. Gilbert gave a light smile to Kiku, almost reassuring him of his question.

“Yeah, well, don’t hog him will you?” Gilbert walked over and pulled Kiku into his arms.

Oh, _right_. Lovers... Kiku sort of tuned everything out after that. So, Gilbert pretty much confessed and Kiku accepted his feelings when he accepted the flowers and they kissed? He kind of wanted to drop on the floor at that moment from the realization.

Elizabeta swooned. “Francis, get your camera! Please!”

“I have it Mon Cheri,” he said as he took out said camera snapping a few shots.

The Japanese frowned.

"Kiku dear, please look happier. You were surely smiling when you and Gilbert connected lips."

"Francis-san!"

Was it going to be that way from then on? He was used to taking pictures of everybody else but not of himself. When had he become the prey?

And then the door swung open _again_.

“Whoa! Taking pictures with Keeks? I want to take pictures with him too! I’m next!” Alfred said cheerfully running over to the group and attempting to squeeze in.

“Oi, Alfred, don’t be a git!” Arthur said scolding the other and yanking him away from the pair when he tried to squeeze in.

“Gilbert-san…please let me go.” Kiku pleaded.

“So you’d rather have the two fangirls over there flocking at you and your friend Alfred asking questions thinking it’s a game?”

“Never mind.” He quickly retreated.

Gilbert grinned as he held onto the shorter male. Kiku's days were definitely going to get livelier. He sighed in defeat as everybody else was in their own little world. He really wanted _actual_ costumers to come in for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *VOMITS RAINBOWS AND FLUFFY THINGS* 
> 
> Oh lord, 10 more days to go. I'll admit, when I'm done with this it'll feel weird because this really has helped me with my writing becoming an almost daily thing. Oh and did anyone catch that hint at RusAme? Eh? EH? Lol whether or not you took it as a shippy hint or a simply platonic hint is up to you. I don't care I didn't really have any real intention behind it.


	20. Day 20 - Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay...so I suck at really describing movements? I figured I'd just project my own dancing knowledge to these two seeing as I don't really slow dance (more like move everywhere and not care) but I know a tiny bit of it. 
> 
> I dance other stuff, but I'm pretty sure Gilbert and Kiku don't belly dance or do merengue LOL.
> 
> Okay so the song's lyrics I used were Angel Baby by Rosie & the Originals. The song does not BELONG TO ME (obviously). And I really like this song okay... so I figured I'd use it on Kiku hehe.

Kiku Honda had been studying for an upcoming exam when _that_ song came on, _Angel Baby_. Now, the song itself wasn’t something he was too familiar with until recently, but he really grew to like that song in particular. There was something about it. Maybe it was the instrumentals to it, the feminine voice, or even that oldies sort of feel it gave off. While his music taste varied from out of date artists to very modern in both Japanese and English, it was quite mixed overall. He wasn’t sure if Vocaloid counted for any of his music taste but he’d always count it in his mind, thank you very much. Kiku remembered hearing that song in particular one day at the café Elizabeta and Roderich owned. It for some reason reminded him of Gilbert. Then again a lot of things reminded him of the albino that it’d instantly make him smile to himself.

He could imagine Gilbert slowly swaying side to side on his own shamelessly to the music, forgetting everything else around him, maybe even humming or loudly singing as he grinned happily, and even possibly dancing with an inanimate object once he got into it. The thought made Kiku chuckle softly. Every time he heard the song he was filled with a warm feeling and he couldn’t ever resist turning it up higher when he was on his own. It was odd to associate the albino with that type of song or music because Gilbert didn’t listen to much soft music, though he claimed to like all types, Kiku knew the other preferred music a bit more on the heavy side and upbeat.

_‘It's just like heaven being here with you’_

He couldn’t focus on reading his notes anymore from his binder. Kiku just sat back and closed his eyes as the song continued.

‘ _You're like an angel too good to be true’_

_‘But after all, I love you, I do’_

Kiku smiled to himself because Gilbert was no angel, but he could be innocent about a lot of things. It was pretty cute actually. As the thought lingered he figured why not try and let himself get lost in the mood? Everyone always told him to do so. No one was around this time so he stood up from his chair but didn’t move. He stood still, waiting for the next part.

_‘Angel Baby, my Angel Baby’_

_‘When you are near me my heart skips a beat.’_

Kiku lightly spoke (or sang) the lyrics, whichever really, because Kiku wasn’t much of a singer either but Gilbert claimed his voice soothed him at night when he couldn’t sleep. He’d admit to singing soft melodies here and there. He swayed side to side with each beat and then slowly spun himself cautiously around as the next set of lyrics came on.

_‘I can hardly stand on my own two feet’_

_  
‘Because I love you, I love you, I do’_

Kiku eventually started slowly making his way across the room with his eyes closed, soaking in the music with his arms spread out and a small smile staying on his face. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, but he was. Kiku opened his eyes and stumbled upon one of Gilbert’s discarded shirts. He thought to himself how ridiculous he’d probably look—but…no one was around… He lightly blushed but grabbed the collar shirt with the faint scent of the albino on it and led it around the room like a ballroom dancer, or at least _tried_ because the truth of it was Kiku had only tried dancing once or twice in his lifetime. The only times were with Mei and she would giggle every time he almost stepped on her feet while trying to do a simple waltz. He had never tried after that and he most certainly looked ridiculous in his own thoughts.

_‘Angel Baby, my Angel Baby’_

_‘Oooh, I love you, ooooh I do’_

Kiku twirled the shirt over his head and moved his body side to side once more. He was so absorbed in his own world, his own odd and child-like movements he hadn’t noticed he had knocked over a couple of shoes in another nearby chair.

_‘No one could love you like I do’_

Facing the window, he held the shirt a bit more firmly this time, yet delicately, taking in the familiar scent again, his cheeks losing their flush. He opened his mouth to attempt at actually shouting the next line when it registered to him that another voice had beaten him to it.

“Please never leave me blue and alone!”

The voice sounded a slight bit raspier and deeper though, and that sure as hell wasn’t his own voice—Kiku turned around quickly to see Gilbert standing in the doorway widely grinning at him. Kiku’s faced instantly heated up again. The albino shut the door and walked in, still singing.

 _“_ If you ever go... I'm sure you'll come back home. _”_

Kiku was still flushed, and he honestly wanted to run out the door or hide under his—oh yeah he had Gilbert’s shirt, and he danced with it, and sniffed it, how embarrassing—but hearing the other sing along only made him more self conscious.

“Because I love you, I love you, _I_ _do_.” Gilbert sang while looking at Kiku with much softer eyes.

In truth, the Japanese was a bit shocked knowing Gilbert had come in at last minute but he wondered how much he had seen of Kiku embarrassing himself. Although it was mortifying to think he had been caught dancing alone in their room, he knew he wasn’t making fun of him.

“Come on, at least sing and dance the last part with me. You were doing an awesome job even before I cut you off. I'm even jealous of my own shirt.” Gilbert snickered but smiled again.

Kiku gulped with his face clearly still red but tried to put his focus back on the nice slow instrumentals that somehow pulled him away from reality, and those lyrics, despite being really cheesy, spoke to him. He did what he could and closed his eyes again.

_‘Angel Baby, my Angel Baby.’_

Gilbert approached him and grabbed his hand and dragged the shorter male closer to him by the waist. The albino wasn’t exactly an expert at dancing either, but he could do slow dancing at least (Elizabeta and Roderich might have or have not had something to do with it), that was always nice. At the start of the next verse, he pulled Kiku in closer to him and swayed himself along with his partner left to right. Then slowly, to the song, they rocked back and forth again as he continued to sing, with Kiku softly saying the lyrics after him.

“Oo-oo-oh, I love you.” Gilbert sang and looked at Kiku to sing the next part.

“Oo-oh I do.” Kiku said softly looking away every few seconds to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't really noticed how awfully romantic the lyrics were when sung with someone else.

“No one could love you—”

“Like I do,” the shorter male completed the verse, waiting for the last line to come up.

Gilbert had surprised him then because as Kiku stayed awfully close to the taller male's chest simply refusing to look anywhere else, the albino had lifted his chin up and whispered the very last line to him, feeling the warm breath hit his ear, earning a shudder.

_“No one could love you like I do.”_

And Kiku faintly smiled because that was probably true. Gilbert was his own unique person and he definitely went out of his way to show it. So there was no doubt in that.

“Of course, Gilbert-kun,” Kiku replied softly as he slightly tiptoed to give him a peck on the cheek.

The albino found his face flushed instantly because he thought Kiku would have still been super embarrassed or something along those lines. It wasn’t until the song instantly changed and it was something Kiku definitely didn’t recognize, but apparently his partner did because Gilbert had grabbed both Kiku’s hands and held them tight as he did a ridiculously large step with his feet. He took charge then and started parading them both around the room. They knocked over books and papers and he almost tripped on his bag—okay, so they both tripped but Gilbert managed to save both their asses from falling over.

“Be careful Gilbert-kun. Wait, why are we still dancing!?” he asked feeling quite embarrassed. 

“Because, it’s fun. Duh!”

“But I don’t really dance…”

“Neither do I, but I like doing stuff with you, kesesese!”

And there it was again, that wide grin. He couldn’t ever argue with that. Kiku sighed in defeat as he continued being led on by the energetic albino. If anyone were to walk in and ask what was going on, he’d have no clue on what to say. What type of dance was it? He had no idea. He just knew Gilbert was leading him around everywhere with both their faces flushed. One was out of pure bliss (probably), while Kiku’s was out of embarrassment. They surprisingly didn’t trip over each other’s feet. The music managed to slow down and Kiku just closed his eyes and listened to Gilbert humming, feeling his once-rapid heartbeat slow just like the song itself. He rested his head comfortably against the other’s chest simply smiling as he had his arms wrapped around Gilbert’s waist. He knew he wasn’t even dancing anymore. They had stopped sometime in between the lyrics, reducing their "dancing" to simple side to side movements again. He was simply hugging his partner, but Gilbert never minded that. He liked the extra attention.

“We should dance more often.” Gilbert said enthusiastically.

“Mmm may I ask why?” Kiku asked looking up at his partner with both brows raised.

“Because I like having you close to me like this. Isn’t it obvious?” The taller male’s crimson red eyes had a gleam to them, it was like they were dancing too.

“We’re doing this wrong…” Kiku responded with a frown.

“So? I still like it.” He shrugged back.

Kiku hummed in response, not knowing what else to say. He wanted to laugh and smile and just bury his face in Gilbert’s chest again, but he instead looked up at Gilbert and stopped them from moving. The albino raised an eyebrow but he already caught on to what the shorter male would do. No way was he getting caught off guard again! He beat Kiku to it this time and leaned down to kiss him on those small pink lips. The shorter Japanese male’s eyes widened as he blushed, reciprocating the kiss just as strongly, wrapping his arms over Gilbert’s neck. Yeah, dancing was nice, especially considering the close proximity they were in.

So what if they looked silly, as long as they had fun right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... I can't ever not write fluff lol.


	21. Day 21 - Cooking/Baking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I chose baking in this! I found myself kind of struggling with this one since I wanted to write but I had no idea on what. At least the next theme will be much more interesting! Just bear with me for now.

Prussia had the _most awesome_ plan ever! He decided to go through with it after getting some advice. He had even borrowed a baking book from France himself, without actually telling his fellow friend the true intention of his purposes but the blue eyed blond had a good hunch. It had Hungary and even Austria shocked at how dedicated he had seemed lately. He hadn’t come by to bother them recently and they had heard from Germany that he was busy on a baking frenzy.

Hungary was still dumbfounded and Austria hadn’t believed it until he heard word of it not only from Germany but Italy as well, even by Francis when he stopped by.

Austria thought the albino had gone mad.

_“I wouldn’t want to try a thing he makes frankly.” The Austrian said sipping his coffee._

_“Look at this way… it can’t be as bad as England’s scones, Mister Austria.” Hungary smiled as she took a sip of her drink too._

_“True.”_

Well, it actually wasn’t _his_ plan. Italy gave him the idea. The plan/idea was to convey his feelings with each pastry he’d make.

“Yes! I’m sure he’ll understand your feelings with food! I always cook my pasta with a lot of love for Germany.” The auburn haired Italian said cheerfully.

“Hmm, if you say so Italy-chan.”

Prussia gave Italy a warm smile. He adored the way Italy was with Germany. Such pure feelings, such innocence, it was clear Italy just wanted to be happy with his friend, or whatever the heck they were—more than friends but not official—yeah that’s what they were. It was perfect. He figured he'd take the advice anyway since the Japanese was pretty close to Italy regardless.

Prussia finally noticed those funny feelings he had for Japan lately. He had no idea what it meant until then. It started with him coming over more often than usual to him wanting more of Japan’s attention to him getting a bit too touchy with him, not in a sexual manner but, Prussia was always very physical with people he was familiar with, but—Japan eventually got used to it he _supposed_. Just like how he got used to Italy’s random hugs, though Japan would prefer to keep those to a minimum too.

Prussia didn't know how to tell Japan without actually telling him about said feelings, because he didn't have any idea on how to go about it since he had never really experienced it before and not to mention, he had actually tried telling the nation a few times before but something always interrupted them… He even went as far as to ask for a recipe for macaroons from France (that was how he even acquired a baking book from him) or anything else really, but maybe instead he should have asked France himself for advice on how to convey? More than one opinion was never a bad choice. He was supposed to bake something for Japan and give it to him whenever he came over. That was his said plan, practice made perfect after all! So why baking? Because he figured he could give Japan a break. Japan always made him sweets though at first it was through suggestions, but the smaller nation eventually caught on and started making them when he knew Prussia would be coming over. They became almost inseparable friends throughout the years, the only problem, however, was in the actual baking part.

Prussia had never really baked for anyone to begin with.

So he tried.

He tried pretty _hard_. But it was like the oven had it out for him or something, because no matter how closely he monitored the day's baked goods, they always ended up at least a little bit too crunchy, a little bit burnt on the bottom, or the opposite—raw in the middle, not well done enough. Okay, so maybe he was a perfectionist _sometimes._ He just really cared.

Prussia decided he’d go as basic as he could with chocolate chip cookies on the first day. They weren't so bad, which gave him false hope for the future. He came over to visit as he knocked, waiting for a pair of onyx colored eyes with hints of chocolate color on them, short straight soft dark looking hair, creamy white skin covered by the usual yukata, adorable short stature, and—okay so he was probably reading a bit too much European literature lately or something. He mentally cursed France.

Japan eventually came to the entrance and then, with a stutter, Prussia said "Hey Japan, I—uh decided I’d bring the sweets from now on since I’m always asking for yours kesesese! They’re for _you_ ", he shoved the small basket of cookies into the Japanese’s hands and walked himself inside without even bothering to look at Japan’s surprised expression and faint smile appearing on his lips. Prussia simply kept walking until he reached the kitchen hoping for the light pink on his cheeks to fade away.

* * *

 

The next day he showed up it was brownies. He used the wrong kind of chocolate because apparently there were types? And it smelled and tasted more like some burnt crap when taken out of the oven. With an hour of hard work, Prussia managed to salvage one that was edible, sprinkling powdered sugar on it and stuffing it with melted cooking chocolate. He gave that one to Japan when he arrived again.

“Um…Prussia-kun, if it’s too much work you do not have to trouble yourself with bringing me pastries. I can simply make something here—”

“Nein! I am…I am practicing, ja! So just take that brownie, it was…the only good one out of the batch,” Prussia said grinning as he scratched the back of his head attempting to hide his intentions.

A faint frown at the corner of his lips appeared, but Japan nodded. “Let me at least make something small for you. I do not wish to eat something in front of you without you having something of your own.” The Japanese said politely as he got up and went to the kitchen.

 _Damn it_. He needed to step it up!

When Japan had come back with a small steamed bun for Prussia, the albino had watched the other bite into the brownie. Prussia at least rejoiced in his brownie being a small success due to the shorter male eating it without barfing. What he hadn’t noticed was Japan’s smile being a bit wider than usual while appreciating Prussia’s hard work.

* * *

 

Okay so a few days after that Prussia tried to make a sweet potato pie. The crust was too thick and the stuffing was too watery, and it ended up mushy and wet. Hungary had actually saved his ass by visiting and she put it back in the oven for a little while longer, showing him a few tricks with the crust dough and sweet potato. It ended up looking pretty good if Prussia were to say so himself, which was a surprise.

Japan blinked a few times when the pie was put into his hands but after seeing the look of suspense on Prussia’s face he understood and found himself oddly amused.

“It looks delicious Prussia-kun, thank you very much.” Japan lightly bowed and gestured for the other to come inside.

“Ah…I hope it’s good.” The albino said with a hint of worry but grinned regardless.

“I’ll cut a piece for you as well. Would you like some tea or milk?” Japan offered.

“Uh, you have milk?” Prussia tilted his head.

“Hai…I recently got some from Italy-kun. I was missing some the other day so I was surprised when he came in with some.”

Prussia cackled to himself and Japan was the one to tilt his head in confusion this time. The albino supposed that was Italy’s way of looking out for them both. He simply leaned over to ruffle Japan's hair.

* * *

 

Prussia didn’t visit until the end of the week after his pie attempt. He took a shot at macaroons this time. In the end, they were too big and thick, and there wasn't enough filling to complete all of them. His attempts were failures but were edible, all the same. He instead ended up apologizing to Japan over the phone letting him know he failed with the sweets that day. France would have definitely scolded him, but the jerk was off bothering himself with the English bastard!

“I told you Prussia-kun, you do not have to try so hard at bringing pastries, but if you wish I will appreciate your sweets all the same. Although, if you could refrain from bringing so many sweets often I'd also appreciate that. I believe I’ll end up with high blood sugar if this continues.” The Japanese said jokingly as he softly chuckled over the phone.

Prussia could feel a hint of heat over his cheeks. “Oh, s-sorry Japan. Well, I’ll be over tomorrow with something and then after that you can tell me how you like it. I won’t bake for a long while after that I promise! I told you I’m just sort of practicing, ha ha…”

Japan raised both eyebrows. He couldn’t deny his good friend’s request after sounding so—timid? Shy? Sorry with a mixture of determined? He wasn’t sure how Prussia sounded, but he seemed slightly softer than usual. “I understand.”

Prussia could only smile at that.

* * *

 

So his last day he managed to make a batch of vanilla cupcakes that were all close to the same size and shape, and he decorated them with thin cream cheese icing that didn't drip or taste like flavored milk. He was proud of the batch this time. It was probably his best ever. So he was finally going to tell Japan, he’d make sure of it. His heart was beating too quickly and a lump formed deep in his throat when he finally arrived. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. The small box in his hands seemed too heavy all of a sudden and his arms shook.

He was regretting the whole thing now, because what if Japan didn’t feel the same about him and he was just making a fool of himself? He was about to turn around and go and forget about the dumb idea altogether until the door slid open and the albino snapped his gaze forward, meeting Japan’s warm, kind eyes. Kind of ironic how other’s said his gaze was hollow-like, yet when he looked into them, he saw so much more. He grinned at Japan and gave him the basket of cupcakes. Prussia didn't miss the glint in Japan’s onyx colored eyes, when he received the basket, either. 

They were situated inside the guest room and Japan took a bite out of a small cupcake first, tasting it, savoring it.

“This is delicious, Prussia-kun.” The shorter male said with a happy gleam in his eyes.

That was pretty rare, even for Japan. He felt a hint of pride in his work.

“Of course! I tested the batch. I’m glad you like. I wanted it to be the best.” The albino said grinning.

“These were all for practice?”

“Ja.” Prussia said grabbing one for himself.

“For future use I suppose?” Japan asked curiously.

“Uh, they’re for someone…” The albino replied sheepishly.

“Oh. I’m sure they will be pleased with your progress then.” Japan answered while looking into his tea cup taking a small whiff out of it before sipping.

Maybe he could do it now. He just got praised for his work so why not? And Japan was totally misunderstanding… so it'd be best to remedy the situation.

“Oh. I almost forgot to mention... I have something to tell you.” Japan responded by looking at Prussia with his ever so neutral expression.

Prussia’s heart jumped. It wasn’t what he thought right...?

“I would have liked to inform you ahead of time, but you had already arrived before I could say anything. I offered to make a cake for Holland-san. Since you said you were practicing for someone just now, would you like to learn a bit from me?” Japan finished taking his last bite of a cupcake.

Well, why did he expect anything else really? Damn that Netherlands. He clenched his teeth and smiled. “S-Sure.”

* * *

 

Prussia's gaze flicked across the counter to Japan's flour-covered hands, his own hands busy measuring out the necessary ingredients for the cake they were attempting to make completely from scratch, and all for Netherlands. He still wasn't sure why he hadn’t said what he wanted to say when he finally gave Japan the cupcakes. After having that talk on wanting to impress someone with his baking skills—he couldn’t believe the Japanese didn’t catch onto his intentions. He basically agreed to learn from Japan on how to make a cake for—well—Japan himself apparently. According to the Japanese it was perfect timing since he had just decided to make a cake for a certain Dutch.

Prussia figured he’d help since he was there. Why would he say no anyway? He was already thankful enough to Japan being his awesome friend along with actually liking his company. He knew Japan was a great a baker and a good cook, always making sweet treats to go with the tea he liked to serve his guests, and always making delicious food on the go or even finger food snacks. And so, here he was, standing around in the kitchen, both of them covered in far too much flour for _simple_ baking.

Japan reached past him, picking up the bottle of real vanilla and adding a few drops to his current mixture. "You simply have to taste it every chance you get. Each time is going to be different. Baking is about exact measurements, but then there are also risks you can take to make something much better. It’s truly up to preference and whatever you are comfortable with."

Prussia stood there, looking a little bit dumbfounded, his brain only having picked up something about set measurements and risks. With a sigh, he just nodded and made a soft noise of agreement while watching the other's small pink lips moving. How _cute_ , he thought. Japan looked great with his little apron, and well he had to borrow an apron from the smaller male too. He would surely go shopping for an apron of his own tomorrow. Whatever Japan said to him was probably right anyway. Some part of him knew he'd need the information later, but the other part just couldn't stop the meandering thoughts that bothered him.

One small hand slid past him again, grasping the hand mixer. Japan then plugged it in, pressing it into the gooey mixture, and turning it on. Over the top of the noise, he said, "Two minutes, at most. It is not good to over mix or you risk putting too much air in it. It takes an odd form."

 _Odd_... that was one way to describe what had been going on with Prussia for quite a while now. He rested his hands on the counter and stared at the beaters as they mixed up the wet and dry ingredients, forming a paste. Somewhere between the fifth or sixth tea time Japan had planned and now, Prussia had managed to start looking at the smaller nation in a completely different light, and he wasn't all that sure what to do about it. Was it so wrong to crush on your ex student aka now close friend with whom you had a healthy friendship with? Japan and he had a lot more in common than people assumed. Sure he wanted to keep things natural between them, but with his feelings going in completely different directions, Prussia was sure that he'd eventually give himself away and then he'd be presented with a very awkward problem.

"—and remember to make sure you grease the pan before putting in the batter, Prussia-kun."

Prussia nodded vaguely and took a step closer under pretense of checking the oven temperature, which he at least actually did. Looking away, he watched Japan pour the thick goo into the pan.

The albino shifted slightly as he reached for a spatula to scrape the bowl out with. He’d take glances at the smaller male whenever he got the chance.

Prussia stiffened slightly when he felt a pair of eyes stare back, freezing in place and doing his very best to look innocent. The moment Japan smiled and looked away, he nearly sighed in relief. This was no good at all.

Japan offered to take the bowl and spatula to the sink after he was done and he began to run water into the bowl and utensil, going back to put the cake in the oven and set the timer.

"I’m pretty sure Netherlands is going to be ecstatic getting this from you." Prussia straightened up and came over, starting to wipe down the counter, and smirked at Japan. "He's got a thing for you, you know...kesesese!"

Japan gave Prussia the most shocked look he could muster. "Excuse me Prussia-kun, I don’t believe I understand."

"Yeah... the way he looks at you. He’s super protective of you anyway, right?” The albino gave a smug look. "He's got it hard."

Hard... yeah, maybe he had it hard too. Prussia started feeling a bit ridiculous at hinting all of this along with this annoying feeling in his chest.  

"We are merely friends." Japan replied bluntly.

Prussia let out a soft sound and gave a shrug. "I see. Wrong gender?"

"What?" Japan slightly flushed.

"You know, your type? What kind of person are you into?" Prussia asked intrigued.

Japan pursed his lips for a moment. "I do not like to speak of these things, but if you must know I am interested in someone and it is not Holland-san.”

Prussia’s eyes widened, but quickly went back to normal as he leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "Then why offer to make the guy a cake from scratch when he could easily buy one himself?"

"It's merely a kind gesture for a friend." Japan frowned a little, finally looking right at Prussia. “And I bake for you all the time Prussia-kun…”

That was definitely true.

For a long few moments, the albino studied the Japanese, and then huffed out a half laugh and shook his head. "I see. That’s true. _Friends_ huh?" With that, he turned and began to clean the next counter behind him again.

Japan didn’t exactly appreciate the tone Prussia used there and he could feel himself getting irritated at the whole situation. He wasn’t one to let his feelings out so easily, but Prussia was really starting to get on his last nerves here for some reason. He was always good at provoking him.

“Yes, _friends_. But since you brought this topic into discussion, why exactly did you decide to _practice_ baking sweets for me when you could have easily done it for Hungary-san? Seeing as making things from scratch is a sign of interest apparently.” Japan said with a deadpan stare despite the other having his back turned.

The words struck Prussia a bit harshly and he shifted uncomfortably while turning around. "Why the hell would you put Hungary in all of this?"

In all honestly Japan hadn’t really been around much to observe the closeness Hungary and Prussia had, but he’d seen them once in a while and how they acted like great friends when he'd gone over to Germany's, so natural with one another. He wasn’t jealous… but he wondered if there was something more, despite Hungary clearly choosing Austria. And he may have or have not heard a rumor or two, shame on him, he never believed rumors but the expression on Prussia said a lot that he couldn’t help but believe it.

“Gomennasai... That was extremely rude of me. It is none of my concern.” Japan said lowering his head. “I’ll start putting the supplies away.”

Prussia tossed the cloth in the sink and walked around to reach out to grab the other’s wrist. "Wait…that was really rude of me too. I didn’t mean to provoke you like that about Netherlands.” He frowned at the shorter male. “Listen…”

Japan could only feel Prussia’s pulse from his own hand on his as he looked up to meet the other’s gaze. He was going to suggest letting go, that he wasn’t going anywhere but something inside Japan didn’t want to so instead he tried to ignore the slight embarrassment and discomfort, the urge to jump away and forced himself to listen. Prussia looked hurt and nervous at the moment.

“All those sweets were for you.” A hint of pink shaded the albino’s cheeks as he stared at the dark haired male.

“W-What?” Japan blinked, not sure if he heard correctly, along with forgetting to breathe.

“Ja… they were for you.” Prussia admitted lowering his head.

“But…why? I thought—”

“Gott Japan, I like you okay? The kind of like where I want more of your attention. I was just trying to show you and well uh—thank you in some way aside from actually saying it but I guess that was stupid huh? I already ruined it by making it awkward." He huffed as he brought a hand to his face. "Ha…I’ve never done this before.”

Japan stared dumbfounded at Prussia and wow that was probably the first time ever that he saw the Japanese with more expression than usual. He noticed he had still been holding the other’s wrist and immediately let go.

“Sorry about holding your wrist like that.” Prussia said with a frown.

“It’s fine Prussia-kun. Thank you.” Japan muttered with a small smile finally snapping out of his stupor. “Thank for trying so hard. I appreciate the kind gestures. I always thought you saw me as a mere ally but nevertheless I always appreciated your friendship more than anything else. So when I noticed my own feelings I had no such intention of saying a word.”

“Wait…am I that someone else you were talking about?” Prussia said getting a bit closer to Japan.

“ _Hai…_ ” Japan said with a small blush.

When that word escaped the smaller male’s lips, he was suddenly lifted up by the albino and was spun around.

“Prussia-kun! Please put me down!” Japan said as sternly as possible but he was clearly ignored as the albino happily grinned finally putting him down and leaning his forehead onto the shorter male.

Both males looked at one another with heated faces and foreheads. Japan couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle.

* * *

 

“So I'm assuming it went splendid with your little chrysanthemum?” The Frenchman said over the phone with a hint of smugness. "Need kissing pointers?"

“Huh? How the heck did you know it was him?” Prussia asked a bit impressed with both eyebrows raised.

“Mon dieu, Prussia! It was not hard figuring it out with a starstruck Hungary.”

“She posted it on her blog didn’t she?”

“Oui.”

“Damn. It’s only been two days since! And she promised she’d keep it to herself!” He sighed.

“I thought you liked all the attention. Besides, you should know better than to trust a female with one of her desires coming true.” France shook his head.

“Ja… well…Japan doesn’t like the attention. I just hope he doesn’t—”

A shout was heard from the end of the line.

“Prussia-kun! You told Hungary-san already?! I thought we decided to not say a word until we were both ready!”

“Ah…well, I thought she could be trusted but I guess—”

Japan furrowed his eyebrows. “Italy-kun has been sending me emails non-stop about feeling betrayed at not knowing.”

“Oh, this will be interesting.” France softly laughed into the phone. “I’ll leave you be then, good luck my friend~”

“Oi, wait France, wait—” Prussia pleaded.

“Ah, I cannot help in personal affairs such as this. You simply must be honest with little Japan. Au revoir~”

“Big help you are,” he said as he hung up.

Japan refused to make him any desserts for the rest of the week. Whether or not he whined and whimpered for his precious sweets, well that was something Germany had to deal with hearing from his older brother. Was he really going to have to try to talk to Japan about it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah... I really want my own personal Japan here.
> 
> P.S. Yes I like bringing up Prussia's one sided crush on Hungary (I'll probably disgustingly overuse this damn trope) despite me not shipping them that way because it makes way for conflicting feelings. I figure she was probably Prussia's first actual crush but he couldn't do anything about that one since clueless child is clueless. Besides, Hungary made it obvious she chose Austria. It's just my own opinion who am I to say what's right? Himaruya likes to make things ambiguous. People can think what they like of course.
> 
> PEACE.


	22. Day 22 - In battle, side-by-side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well then, I've been on a roll this weekend writing nonsense so I finally decided to update this! I'll probably be going at a slow pace during this month anyway since I've got exams/projects coming up too. Actually, I should have been doing my homework today but once again I wrote. Ah well, here you go. This is a Vampire Hunter AU. Pretty much a mixture of whatever vampire shows I've seen (including anime lolol).

Kiku wound his legs around Gilbert's waist and drew him in even closer. Their faces mere inches away from each other as the Japanese’s onyx colored eyes with hints of brown were glazed with lust. Gilbert’s eyes widened at the sudden action but he shortly smirked. Smiling mischievously Kiku began to undo the top buttons of the albino’s shirt taking a feel of the other’s pectorals every chance he got. Every light touch made the albino shudder and Kiku probably would have gotten the entire shirt off if it weren't for the untimely interruption of a loud vibration from Gilbert’s pocket.

Groaning, he fumbled around for his cell phone, finding it tucked inside Kiku’s boot. "Hallo?"

"Are you at the location, yet?" Francis asked on the other end.

_"Hey, frog! Tell him to bring back some bloody samples! I need to research some more!”_

“I believe you heard Arthur, non?”

“Ja, I heard.” Gilbert slightly cringed. “Sure…we’ll bring a sample…” He cradled the phone between his shoulder and cheek as he attempted to straighten his clothing and re button. Beside him, Kiku wiggled back into his pants.

"Hm? What’s this? I hear a lot of moving around in the background. You’re not inside the house yet are you?" Francis inquired. "So if you’re not inside yet, then—oh. _Ooohh~_ "

Arthur immediately intervened. "You wankers better not dirty the damn car!"

"It's not your car, Arthur." Gilbert stated bluntly.

 _“Gilbert-kun, it’s Francis-san’s car…”_ Kiku whispered over to him.

The albino pursed his lips ignoring the comment.

“So?! I still get into the passenger’s seat and I’d rather not sit my arse down on a seat that’s been tainted thank you very much.”

Gilbert huffed. "No problem, nothing happened anyway. We’re getting dressed, okay? We’ll load up and head inside afterwards.”

"Make sure you bring me back a sample too," Arthur repeated sternly.

"And try not to get so lustful for blood you two. Arthur wouldn’t stop going on and on about how there was no blood left for him to examine in the last hunt.” Francis said as he took the phone away from the Englishman.

_“Oh? I go on and on do I? Well I’m the only one doing anything around here when it comes to researching! Kiku at least tries to help me by reading up on history books when he’s not out with Gilbert hunting! What do you do!?”_

_“I cook because mon dieu, you’d kill us all with your meals.”_

_“WHAT?!”_

“Uh…I’m hanging up guys…” Gilbert snorted and ended the call _._

When the pair got out of the car, an awful metallic scent was in the breeze. Kiku and Gilbert both exchanged looks. It was definitely fresh blood.

"Smell that?" Gilbert whispered over to his partner.

"Hai, they've hunted recently." Kiku muttered back.

Both males had packed their weapons accordingly. Gilbert had his own personal guns with high crosses engraved on both sides.The bullets he loaded into his weapon were also engraved with said markings. It was a special type that was the perfect way to combat vampires. He also tucked several knives into his boots and pockets, just in case.

Kiku could only watch as Gilbert admired his weapons with a proud smile. Amazing how someone could look so innocently happy while going off to kill undead creatures. The Japanese eventually finished examining the sides of his katana and sheathed it. The blade was a family heirloom that had been blessed accordingly and its sole purpose was vanquishing the undead. The bottom of the hilt, like the albino's guns, was marked with a cross of its own.

"Did you bring your knives too?" Gilbert asked ecstatically. He sort of reminded Kiku of a puppy. Ever since he taught Gilbert how to throw knives, the albino couldn’t stop being amazed and constantly asking for demonstrations. He even went as far as to call Kiku a ninja and suggested shurikens. While he taught Gilbert knife throwing, Gilbert had taught him how to shoot. An equal exchange of sorts.

The Japanese nodded to his partner answering his question eventually pointing at various places on his body where he'd hid the throwing knives with Celtic cross markings on them. Though his blade would suffice, the knives were necessary in long-range fighting as precaution.

When they made it to the door Gilbert brought his guns up and motioned for Kiku to go forward. With a hand on his blade, the other gently pushed open the door. It opened to complete darkness.

They looked at one another again.

"Typical scenario huh? Always dark like this.” The albino said unamused.

“With nobody home." Kiku said completing the other’s sentence.

“Hey, you brought those night-vision goggles right? The ones my bruder gave us a while back?”

“I did.”

Once Kiku handed a pair to his partner they equipped them and crept in through the entrance. Everything in the house looked completely outdated and run down. The wooden railings of the stairs at the entrance looked mostly rotted and crumpled. It was a surprised the building hadn't been on the verge of collapsing already.

"Should we split?” Gilbert asked cautiously.

The shorter male nodded and the two quickly ran up the stairs splitting up. Gilbert took the right hallway and found himself in what was probably once probably the main bedroom. Dirty ripped curtains swayed with the breeze and he could see the dust particles swirling. Grimacing, he cocked his guns and proceeded further into the room.

Meanwhile, Kiku had reached a room resembling a study room. Several bookshelves were toppled over and the floor was littered with torn pages. He stepped around the messes carefully, trying not to make much noise. There was a body slumped over by one wall. As he reached it, he used his foot to poke at it. Just by speculation alone he couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead. He turned the body over eventually and saw what remained of its face. It seemed to have been human at some point. Kiku decided to take precaution just in case… He didn’t want said dead body suddenly awakening as an undead creature of the night.

He drove his katana through its chest. Once the deed was done, he whipped the blade through the air to sling off the blood and sheathed it. While it was true that only a pureblooded vampire (an original) could turn humans into their kind, but it was better safe than sorry.

As Kiku headed deeper into the room, he noticed something that seemed to drip down the walls. Some sort of red—"Oh..." He muttered. It was blood.

Looking up, he saw bats. Several bats dotted the ceiling of the study and as he gazed down the hall, he could only see more. Some with glowing red eyes while other seemed to have their eyes closed. He wanted to panic, but decided to stay calm as he took a deep breath. It wouldn’t help if he ran off frantically to tell Gilbert about his discovery. Besides what sort of hunter would he be? But then he heard sudden gunshots from the other room. Withdrawing the katana once more, he ran out of the library and headed for the direction of the noise.

On his way, a vampire swung itself from the banister to meet him. While it was true that if you were bitten by a lower level vampire you wouldn’t turn into an immortal bloody thirsty creature of the night, you still became a minion for a short amount of time if bitten. They had no human appearances, the lower levels. It was obvious it had lost any inch of humanity in it. The creature possessed blood red eyes, pale skin, lanky body, its fangs and claws were its primary weapon while its speed was almost unmatched.

Kiku didn’t hesitate to throw himself at the beast and swing his katana. That’s how it usually went. In situations like that, if you hesitated, you already lost the battle. The blade whizzed through the air and cut through the sinewy neck of the vampire, detaching its head from the rest of its body as he took another few seconds to stab right through its chest. The head fell to the ground with a wet _plop_ , but Kiku continued on.

"Gilbert-kun!" He called out, remembering where the sounds of gunshots were heard.

The albino finally appeared. He seemed to be looking over his shoulder every few seconds and shooting into the backroom.

"Kiku?" He looked over with both eyebrows raised.

“Gomen… I heard shots and—”

The albino nodded. "I think I found the pureblood."

Standing with his back to his partner, the two surveyed the area.

"Look up," Kiku said pointing to the ceiling.

Vampires dotted the top. Some clung to the chandelier, while others used their talons to hook into various chinks in the rotting wood. Seeing the two intruders, they screeched.

The pair immediately put their earplugs on, preventing their eardrums from being damaged by the noise. It was a good thing Ludwig, Gilbert’s younger brother, was a specialist at preparing for situations such as those. He had warned them of those screeches beforehand.

One by one, the vampires dropped to meet them. When the last of them finally came to the ground, Gilbert opened fire with his guns. Every time a bullet shot from one of the barrels of his guns, a vampire fell. Kiku instead let the creatures approach him, only attacking once they'd gotten into actual range. He darted through the crowd, slashing and striking swiftly, with no extra and unnecessary movements. Limbs fell to the ground and Gilbert couldn’t help but admire the technique in the other's swordsmanship. Every time Kiku fought by his side it was like watching a mesmerizing dance, a beautiful yet deadly dance with blood spilling from the opposition in the blink of an eye. It was pretty sexy if he said so himself.

The Japanese whipped his specialized knives at the vampires which were hidden behind furniture. Though the weapons were small, they were sharp to the touch and if thrown with the right amount of force, they could cleanly cut through a vampire.

And if Kiku had unparalleled speed, Gilbert was pure strength. He hardly seemed to run out of bullets; every single one of them made their mark. Practice did indeed make perfect. He was nearly perfection and Kiku was equally be amazed at how determined the albino had been in becoming stronger. They became the best of pairs fighting side by side.

When a vampire tried to sneak attack him from behind, Gilbert shot the creature through its chest without even turning around. Another one flung itself at him, spinning in the air with jerky movements. Gilbert—who'd intensely studied the movements of vampires (even the abnormal ones)—took a second to aim before he shot.

After exterminating all of the lower levels the albino calmly reloaded his gun while Kiku wiped his katana on a cloth he had in his pocket. No way was he going to use some dirty dusted cloth from there on his sword.

"Where's the original?" Kiku asked looking around, his forehead forming drips of sweat.

There was a thumping noise in the distance. The two straightened to attention before Gilbert could respond.

A single vampire fell from the ceiling. Unlike the others, that one obviously possessed a grace about it that marked it as infinitely more powerful. Its limbs were thinner, but made up for it in the length of its claws. That was the pureblood. It took a much more human form, but very androgynous. It opened its mouth, fangs covered in blood, and screeched.

Gilbert was the first to shoot; a bullet that the vampire easily evaded. Kiku rushed forward and engaged it instead. It easily deflected his blade with one of its talons. Jumping back, Kiku flung a knife at it. The weapon hit its mark, sinking into the torso of the creature. The roar was terrible.

Gilbert took the opportunity to fire another round at it. This time, it was unable to avoid every single shot. It was weakened, heavily bleeding. It hissed and clawed at them. Kiku pushed in front of Gilbert, distracting the vampire with his blade. While the two were locked in combat, the albino slid to the side and sunk another few bullets into the creature’s undefended side, causing it to recoil horribly. Steadying the katana, Kiku brought it upwards and severed an arm. It slashed at Kiku with the other arm quicker than expected, which the Japanese almost dodged completely but found himself somehow slipping over something solid on the floor (probably a dead body), and _damn it_ what bad timing to literally slip up.

He stumbled and crashed to the floor ungracefully under the creature with a broken-off curse.

Kiku _felt_ frozen when he saw the blur of movement, but reacted according to pure reflex at that point, something more instinctual than training made him dive forward. He wasn’t sure how it happened, only that there was a moment of true struggle between them and he ended up on top of the vampire. It thrashed beneath him with a gurgling sound while oozing blood from its injuries. There was no way it was living. Then the point of the sharp katana pierced through the flesh and muscle of its back, driving into its heart with deadly accuracy. The outraged howl split the air and it went stiff and completely stopped moving.

Gilbert was speechless the entire time. All of it happened in the blink of an eye and at that moment while Kiku wrestled with the creature he actually couldn’t have shot it due to the Japanese blocking his way. He stared at the blood soaked around the neckline of Kiku's shirt after he got off his prey and stood up.

"Kiku!" The albino’s voice broke around the name as he made it over. He pulled and peeled back the wet fabric with frantic, shaking fingers grazed them over the delicate skin in search of the tears or bites leaking so much red—but how? He only saw Kiku getting scratched…

The Japanese squeaked. "Gilbert-kun." Kiku took Gilbert’s hands and faintly smiled, "It is _not_ my blood."

With a relieved sigh he clawed up handfuls of Kiku’s jacket and slanted his mouth over the curve of the shorter male's lips. There was _surprise_ ; Gilbert swallowed it, pushed with a desperate ache pulsing from his heart through his veins until he realized Kiku moved against him, no, with him this time reciprocating. He was so relieved it was pathetic. Because at that moment they had both screwed up, but were lucky enough that they had already weakened the vampire. They had already talked things over. If anything were to happen to either of them, for example getting bitten, they agreed to simply killing the other off. For Kiku it would have been shameful to be let off the hook. It was a better fate than becoming a mindless minion that would wither away anyway. For Gilbert it was more of a safety thing.

The albino shook those thoughts away immediately because at that moment he just—wanted, the taste of Kiku’s mouth and the feel of his skin, warm, soft, _his_ and not undead thank god.

Gilbert's hand settled over the other’s nape, playing with the ends of his soft dark strands of hair. Kiku was pretty sure he was disgusting at the moment, covered in blood and sweat and whatever vampire residue was made of. But Gilbert's other hand found its way around his waist, slipping either by accident or with intent under the hem of his jacket and shirt, palming over the small of his back like it belonged there, magnetized. Kiku bit down on Gilbert's lip and growled his pleasure.

Touch, _yes_ , touch was good. The curl of their tongues against one another’s, the heat of Gilbert’s mouth as he kissed wetly down Kiku's jaw and neck, he nuzzled the vibration of Kiku's throat when he released Gilbert's name into the air. The pair was eventually interrupted when a loud Vocaloid ringtone interrupted their session. They broke apart slightly panting and a bit reddened. Kiku checked his phone and saw one text message.

_“Mon cher, I hope you and Gilbert aren’t taking extra long doing naughty things at that abandoned house…Terrible scenery. Anyway, I'm just checking up to see if you’re both okay~” –Francis B._

The Japanese blinked at the text and exchanged a stare with the albino.

“It’s them isn’t it? Rushing us?”

Kiku softly chuckled. “Francis-san was merely checking up on us.”

“Suuuure… that’s what he’s calling it now?”

Gilbert would have rather said _cock-blocking_ but chose not to. He cocked the gun in his right hand to the side and put two bullets through the stiff creature’s head instead.

“Gilbert-kun, you shouldn’t take out your frustrations on the dead...” Kiku said, poking at the corpse with his foot. "Besides, we should bring back a specimen to Arthur-san before the body withers."

"Yuck. What are we taking? Arm? Leg?" The albino asked raising an eyebrow, eventually eyeing the dead corpse too.

"We can wrap up the head since it is the freshest. Imagine what studies we can do observing its fangs and—maybe we should take an arm too." Kiku mused already having his katana embedded in the neck of the vampire.

"Not awesome… You seem way more into this than me." Gilbert grimaced as he walked over to one of the windows pulling down an old worn out curtain. “Wrap it nicely for Francy pants and the English scone lover.”

“With pleasure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PFFF, YEAH I'M SORRY I LIKE THEM MAKING OUT AND BEING TEASES WITH EACH OTHER. 
> 
> My little badasses :') Hahahha... the idea of Kiku being fascinated by gore though... teehee... 
> 
> bye


	23. Day 23 - Arguing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was pretty hard for me because I honestly don't see these two arguing for much at all... (maybe food or even certain misunderstandings but man that'd be rare) and if they argue I see them making up pretty easily. I mean, they're both pretty mature despite having childish sides (more so Prussia than Japan). I made this human AU because I figured I could tweak things a bit more here. Ughhh this was cheesy lol.
> 
> I gotta keep bringing this up just in case. The name Leon which is mentioned in here is Hong Kong kthx, onto the story.

He hadn't realized how but he had trapped the smaller male against the corner wall. His face inching closer, Kiku could feel the other's hot breath hit him as Gilbert’s other hand was beside Kiku’s face. It was almost intoxicating, _almost_ , except Kiku asked himself what the heck went wrong. Didn't Gilbert like Elizabeta? Why was he so angry? Was he in denial?

"Damn _it_ , you're clueless."

"Gilbert-kun. You like Elizabeta-san do you not?" Kiku asked looking up with a confused expression.

He knew he shouldn’t have been upset. He knew he just had to say what he wanted to say, but Kiku never seemed interested in anyone. He was afraid, especially after seeing the way Francis dealt with Arthur. He had no idea how he did it, but... no, Kiku was different. He almost doubted himself, but he felt he had to do this somehow.

"Nein." Gilbert responded immediately with a deadpan stare.

“But you two are very close and understanding companions—"

"Mein gott Kiku, who cares?" The albino said with irritation clear in his voice.

"I care. I do not enjoy seeing you upset. You have been acting differently."

"Is that so. Well, what about Mei?"

Kiku blinked in disbelief.

"She seems to really love sticking to you. So does the scone lover and if I didn’t know any better Alfred can’t seem to leave you alone ether. Just accept someone’s feelings already! How do you think they feel?!" Gilbert said slamming his palm against the wall making the Japanese flinch.

 _Oh…_ he did not mean to blurt all of that out… and why was he sounding like some jealous lover? _How shameful…_

Kiku’s face instantly grew dark, hiding his face in his hair.

“Why must I be _forced_ to accept feelings that I do not reciprocate?”

Gilbert’s expression immediately dropped to that of a guilty one.

“I feel nothing more than friendship towards them so why are you telling me otherwise? They do not expect more from me and if they truly feel something more then they can inform me themselves. I doubt they need _you_ as a messenger.” And with that Kiku walked around Gilbert avoiding contact and eventually walked away. “I’ll be excusing myself.”

* * *

A whole day had passed without Kiku and Gilbert speaking to one another. Kiku truly wondered what the heck was up with his friend. He hadn’t ever acted out like that. They genuinely got along most of the time and even when it came to disagreements they never lashed out at one another. Had he offended Gilbert in any way? He was really stumped. He kept flashing back to the image of the albino with his irritated expression. Gilbert looked upset and hurt even. Had Elizabeta not returned his feelings? Kiku knew for a fact he had a crush on her. That she was his childhood love. It was none of his business and he had no clue as to why he even brought it up to Gilbert in the first place. Okay, maybe he screwed up. Kiku lightly smacked himself on the head as he walked back to the park bench with some shaved ice cream handing it to his female companion.

“So Mei-san, may I know why you asked me to meet you here?” The Japanese asked with a faint smile as he took a seat beside the brunette.

She took the cup of ice cream and gave a strained smile. “Uhm… well you see, I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now, Kiku…”

Kiku’s stomach was suddenly doing flips. Why did Mei look so nervous? What could have been so important? He simply nodded and waited for her to continue on.

“Who… do you think Leon likes?” The Taiwanese muttered, barely audible to anyone nearby, but he heard it clearly.

Kiku couldn’t hold it back, out of mere shock he choked on some of the shaved ice cream he had just put into his mouth.

“Kiku?! Oh god, are you okay?!” Mei asked frantically smacking the Japanese’s back.

“H-Hai… I am fine.” He said coughing. “Thank you. Your question merely took me by surprise.”

“I know it’s unexpected of me to ask about him but—”

Kiku gestured for her to stop.

“No, it actually isn’t. I just expected a completely different topic. I thought something extremely urgent occurred.”

“Oh—wait, what do you mean it’s expected?!” Mei said furrowing her eyebrows as she leaned closer to Kiku who had his usual stoic expression.

“Mei-san, you and he are quite close and it is quite obvious. It was to be expected.” Kiku responded with a light chuckle.

Mei brought her head down in defeat.

“I am not the best person to ask this to, but you should talk to Leon-san. He really cares for you but tries not to show more than he wants. I believe he is probably struggling with this as much as you are.”

Mei brought her head up to meet Kiku’s gaze. She sighed.

“Maybe. I’ll think about it. Tch, stupid Leon always giving me headaches.” The female said shaking her head in disapproval.

Kiku felt a hint of amusement at his friend’s struggle because he could have sworn Leon said something similar about her. He could oddly empathize.

“So Gilbert isn’t with you today?”

He snapped out of his thoughts at the mention of a certain albino. That terrible feeling at the bottom of his stomach returned.

“Ah…Gilbert-kun, no.”

Mei blinked a few times. “Oh? How odd. You guys are like nearly inseparable.”

Another flip flop from his stomach and a hint of guilt. Ah, he hadn’t even apologized to Gilbert for that argument yesterday, but Gilbert hadn’t even talked to him either. They were grown adults, but they obviously were not acting like it. In truth, Kiku was still very upset but he could easily put the argument aside and have a mature talk with his best friend if he got the chance. The thought of the dumb misunderstanding made him slightly frown.

“Hai… we are, aren’t we?”

Mei noticed the sudden hint of hurt. She knew Kiku was never one to open up with her like that, so she figured she could slowly but surely change the subject.

“If you ever feel like talking, I’m here alright?” She said giving Kiku a cheerful grin.

“Thank you. I will keep that in mind.” He gave her a quick nod.

“So, for the get together at your house tomorrow, anything you’d like me to bring?”

As both of them continued to talk and take bites out of their shaved ice creams Gilbert had actually been taking a walk around the area. It sucked having a pointless misunderstanding with your best friend and not apologizing. Heck, he hadn’t even sent Kiku an apology text! Though he wondered why Kiku was so quick to bring up his past crush on Elizabeta, and did he seriously think he was madly in love with her or something? The thought pissed him off so much. He was trying to hint at his feelings for Kiku the whole week. He surely wasn't getting through to Kiku. He wasn't the best when it came to hinting. He was better at being straight forward after all. It also sucked having every single thing remind him of Kiku. Like walks at the park, those he usually did on his own but they became a thing between him and his friend. They would even walk their pets around. He sighed as he heard an all familiar voice talking.

“Mei-san… why are you asking all of a sudden?” Kiku inquired with an almost bashful expression.

“Because, I deserve to at least know since you know mine! Can I at least have a hint?” She pleaded with her hands clasped together.

“Well…”

“Please!”

And before he knew it, Mei’s puppy eyes actually got him. He gulped.

“I realized a while ago that I am indeed in love with someone.”

Gilbert felt his jaw drop. What? Was he eavesdropping? And why did he have to run into Kiku and Mei at that moment?

“You are?!” Mei practically shouted.

“Hai…”

“At least describe him!” She nudged Kiku.

“He is a very close friend of mine whom I enjoy the simple things with, literature especially, along with tea, sweets, and small talk. He helps me around the house every now and then. He and I share a lot in common despite being so different and both our cultures fascinate us. I truly appreciate his company.” Kiku let out a sigh.

He hadn’t ever actually said all of those things out loud. It was sort of relieving. He hadn’t exactly said everything he wanted and he stuck to general hints, but was surprised at the reaction from his female companion.

The Taiwanese simply giggled.

“Ah, I see. You two _are_ pretty close! He always does like to talk with you. His whole face just lights up. It’s adorable! He’s going to be at the get together right?”

“Of course.” Kiku blinked, wondering if Mei actually knew who he was speaking of, though the talk of their face lighting up, it reminded him of Gilbert’s sunny grin.

“Good! Alright. Well, I’ll be off now. I promised Elizabeta I’d meet her at the nearby café.” She got up off the bench giving a small smile. “Good luck Kiku! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The Japanese could only wave goodbye. That was an oddly quick chat. He wondered who Mei thought he liked. He was surprised she hadn’t been more persistent on it.

Gilbert could only wonder who the heck Kiku was talking about. Kiku was close with quite a few people, though he knew for sure he and Alfred didn’t share literature with one another aside from maybe manga. He figured he’d be thinking about it all day until tomorrow. Ah, tomorrow, he figured he’d talk to Kiku and apologize at the get together.

* * *

 

Mei and Elizabeta were in the kitchen gathering some more snacks to bring out to the main room.

“Are you sure it’s Arthur? That sounds oddly vague and general…” The Hungarian woman raised an eyebrow. “From what you told me Kiku said, it sounds like it could be almost anyone? Gilbert does that stuff with Kiku all the time too...”

“But he said they were _really_ close!” Mei said practically putting emphasis in her statement.

“Gilbert and Kiku are really close.”Elizabeta said narrowing her eyes.

“True, but Arthur and he are too!”

“I’ll give you that. So how are you going to prove it?” The Hungarian woman smirked crossing her arms against her chest.

Mei figured she’d take on the challenge. “Challenging me? You’re on! I got this. I’ll show you how shy they both get!”

“I doubt it, have you seen Francis and Arthur in action?” Elizabeta said with clear excitement.

Mei began laughing. “ _Damn._ What if I guessed wrong?”

“Doubting yourself already? Just give your idea a shot anyway.”

Mei pursed her lips. “I will thank you very much.”

They both took separate trays of snacks and walked out of the room.

Everybody seemed to have made it to Kiku’s house. Alfred was messing with Matthew while Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert just seemed to be laughing at each other’s jokes. Roderich had been sitting on Kiku’s couch taking sips of his tea. Feliciano and Ludwig had just arrived accompanying Roderich on the couch. The only two missing were Arthur and Kiku.

Elizabeta set aside some sweets on the table near Roderich.

“Hm, where’s Kiku?” She asked looking around the living room as she leaned over her husband.

“He went off to the garden.” Roderich said taking a bite of a cookie.

“Oh?”

“Luddy, we should have brought some snacks too…” Feliciano said pouting.

“Well, we brought some pasta, Wurst, and drinks. If we run out of things, I’ll bring more.” Ludwig responded.

“Oh, you can put the stuff over at the table over on the other side.” Elizabeta gestured, pointing near Gilbert and everybody else.

“Hey, have you guys seen Arthur?” Mei asked between Francis and Antonio.

“Arturo? Si, he’s outside in the garden!”

“He’s with Kiku. They’re taking their sweet time.” Gilbert responded with a small huff.

“My my, is Gilbert jealous?” Francis teased.

“Nein! Just figured the host would be around you know?”

“Oui.” Francis nodded not really buying the excuse.

“Yes!” Mei cheered while the trio simply blinked at her. “Oh... I mean, thank you.” She cleared her throat and walked off.

“The hell was that?” Gilbert asked raising an eyebrow.

“No s _é_ , but I stopped asking questions when it came to women, amigo.” Antonio said shrugging it off.

* * *

 

“Wow, you planted the roses I gave you?” Arthur said looking astonished with a book in hand.

“They are beautiful aren’t they?” Kiku smiled engraving the image. He immediately grew them when Arthur had given him the seeds.

There were different colors. Some were white, some peach colored, and others were a beautiful ruby red. The red roses almost reminded him of Gilbert’s eyes, such a passionate crimson red. Wait, he needed to stop that.

Arthur loved the different colors along with the variety in the garden. Roses weren’t the only flowers Kiku planted but he could tell that the Japanese gave each flower tender love and care. He noticed Kiku eying the book in his hand.

“Oh, this book. I wanted to lend it to you. It’s a classic.” He handed it to him.

Kiku took the book which was offered and read the letters in the front, _Persuasion by Jane Austen_.

“I’ll gladly read it. Thank you.”

As they silently exchanged looks at each other, Arthur eventually kneeled down to look at the roses closely.

“You really take care of them. They look really healthy and happy, Kiku.”

The Japanese could only give a small smile.

“I try.”

A loud thump sound was heard from the inside and Kiku almost jumped out of surprise. He wondered what his mischievous friends were up to in the living room. He hadn’t noticed right away that he dropped the book Arthur had given him. He reached down at the same time as Arthur and both males bumped heads attempting to reach for said object.

“Ow…”

“Gomen, Arthur-san…”

Arthur smiled apologetically at the other.

“It’s alright, it was my fault.” The Englishman rubbed his head as he reached for the book and placed it in Kiku’s hands again.

Both of them stared at one another with apologetic expressions.

Gilbert decided to call Kiku inside, partially because he missed his friend and wanted to talk to him, and another because Francis actually told him to go call Arthur too. He also happened to overhear an annoying conversation that wouldn't leave his thoughts.

_“They’re both in the garden probably confessing.” Mei swooned._

_“I’ll admit it's a bit different but—”_

_“Come on Elizabeta! It’s romantic!” The Taiwanese said grinning in victory._

_“They both like flowers! It could be a common interest!” Elizabeta defended._

Gilbert sighed as he made his way to the back. He opened the backdoor only to see both males looking straight at each other their noses almost brushing from the close proximity while kneeling on the ground. Well, he internally cursed himself because at that moment he figured Mei was right.

“Oh sorry.” Gilbert said nonchalantly and turned around leaving them leaving the door open not bothering to shut it.

For some reason the expression on Gilbert left Kiku feeling extremely disheartened and even disappointed.

“What’s that git’s problem?” Arthur got up off the floor as did Kiku. “Uh sorry about that.”

“There is no reason to apologize Arthur-san. If you could excuse me I’d like to check on the tea. You can go ahead and make your way back into the living room. I’ll take good care of this book and make sure to read it.” The Japanese said lightly bowing and taking his leave.

He obviously lied about checking on his tea. He wanted to see if Gilbert was still around but there was no sign of him as he passed the living room. He had said his greetings to Feliciano and Ludwig and decided to ask Francis and Antonio where the albino had gone.

“Mon cher, Gilbert left. He said he had something to do, though I think he’s lying~”

Kiku raised both eyebrows. “Why do you say that Francis-san?”

“Mon dieu, Kiku… it’s obvious, non? The man is struggling with his own feelings. He can’t even calm himself down.”

Antonio simply nodded. “Kiku, you should just give Gilbert his space for now. I’m sure he’ll call you when he feels ready to talk.”

Why did it suddenly feel like Kiku did something wrong?

“I do not like these _subtle_ hints. I do not even know what is going on. Gilbert-kun is usually very upfront on these things.”

“Oui, you said _usually_ … but he has not been his usual self.”

That was true. Kiku was left wondering the rest of the day if another dumb misunderstanding happened, but why would Gilbert misunderstand something extremely harmless? He and Arthur weren’t doing anything wrong. They were simply sharing and exchanging their common interests. He had told himself a variety of times that Gilbert wasn’t capable of liking him like _that_ despite always being very touchy with him and possibly a bit protective because Gilbert was always like that. He didn't like any of it at all. They were usually very honest with one another, so why hadn't he just confronted the albino right there and then? He was scared that's why, but he didn't want to admit that to himself. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear this was not meant to have been some Asakiku vs Prupan thing. My friend had read this before I posted it and she started laughing saying she thought I did it intentionally. NO I did NOT. I was just trying to make Mei get the wrong idea of who Kiku really liked. I have no hard feelings towards Asakiku. It's a cute ship just not an OTP of mine xD! I love their friendship a hell of a lot ^^! 
> 
> So anyway, yeah, going to post the next chapter soon since I'm winging this. *sweats* Or maybe much later since it's actually pretty late here WHOOPSIE LOL. I have the rest written but it needs editing and possible additions.
> 
> Oh and just in case if someone is wondering what "No sé" meant when Antonio answered Gilbert it's "I don't know" in Spanish.
> 
> And yes, finals week approaches for me too x_X! WISH ME LUCK.


	24. Day 24 - Making up afterwards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I'm so cheesy. I love these babies so much. Finals week is approaching and I'm almost done with this semester so this was in addition to my stress writing woo! 
> 
> *Throws otp at you all*

A few days had passed since the get together. Everybody helped Kiku clean up that day. He ended up finding out that the loud thump he had heard while he was in the garden was Gilbert chasing Pochi around and eventually bumping into a table. The thought made him chuckle but was a bit bittersweet at that. Why hadn’t things gone back to normal for them? He finally decided to text Gilbert but all he got was a response from someone else telling him he got the wrong number.

It wasn’t until he received a text an hour later from an unknown number. He checked the incoming message.

_‘Hey Kiku, it’s Gilbert. I had to get a new number since I changed Phone Company. Anyway, just letting you know. It’s finally finals week, remember to take some time off from studying because we all know you overwork yourself!’ – xxx-xxx-xxxx_

The raven haired male faintly smiled at the text and finally decided to respond back after hovering over the message for a good minute.

_‘Thank you for informing me. You should accompany me in studying if you can. I’d very much feel at ease with your presence here.’ – Kiku_

Gilbert chuckled at the text. Why couldn’t Kiku have just said he missed him? He sure as hell missed his Japanese friend. He missed hanging out with Kiku and it had only been a few days. It wasn’t like they couldn’t spend days apart but he supposed it was because of how things had been _awkward_ for him. It also didn’t feel good leaving off on a wrong note. Gilbert figured Kiku was probably really confused. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep quiet much longer. He was tired of snapping and being an idiot. Even Francis and Antonio gave him a talk. If Kiku didn’t accept his feelings then he’d just need a bit of space to recollect his thoughts.

* * *

 

The whole finals week thing was hell. Kiku had been drowning in his text books and the library was now his temporary home, though the college library sadly was not open all night long so he had to suffice with his own place. He had a German, statistics, and anatomy exam the next day. He wasn’t so sure about German. Gilbert would usually make him feel more at ease with that one. Gilbert hadn’t shown up the day after he had sent him a text. He figured they were still rocky with their misunderstanding. He wanted to text him and let him know he was sorry if he had offended him or imposed. He wasn’t exactly sure about the details, but he’d say sorry even if Gilbert wasn’t mad at him. He was used to it after all, always apologizing.

He started dozing off as he read the text from his book. His head dropping and then he felt a smack on his back. Kiku jumped up out of his chair to meet a pair of red crimson eyes. He blinked and tilted his head.

“G-Gilbert-kun?” Kiku asked groggily as he rubbed his eyes.

The albino grinned with a hand on his hip. “Yup.”

At that moment Kiku was so relieved to see his friend. The person he had wanted to talk to. He even let a small smile appear on his lips.

“Kiku. What did the awesome me tell you about relaxing?”

“Gilbert-kun, I had the day of the party to relax—”

A finger was pressed against his lips.

“Nein.” Gilbert said sternly.

“N-No?” Kiku was baffled.

The albino nodded.

Why had Gilbert appeared in his study room anyway? He knew that the albino had a spare key to his place but… that wasn’t necessarily the important thing. Kiku figured there were still things left to say… maybe if he would bring them up—

“Gilbert-kun.”

“I said—”

“Hai, I know what you said. I understand. I shall rest today. I have studied enough.” The Japanese said obediently.

The albino’s expression eased at the response though he was surprised Kiku’s stubbornness hadn’t shown.

“May I ask what brings you here today? I was not expecting you seeing as you left without notice the day of the party and even when I texted you about studying you had not responded back.”

Gilbert scratched the back of his head looking a tad bit ashamed.

“Uh yeah. I had a lingering stomach ache.”

Kiku definitely smelled a lie.

“You should have told me. I happen to have herbs in my garden that would be quite useful for stomach aches or other bothersome symptoms.”

 _Garden,_ the word irked Gilbert. He thought of his misunderstanding with Arthur and Kiku. How close they had seemed, how he knew that if either of them really wanted they would be together. He knew they were simply good friends. It also took an _unwanted_ demonstration from Francis to prove Arthur definitely was not trying to go out with Kiku.

_The Englishman madly blushed at the comment he had heard from Gilbert._

_“Wh—at?! Me and Kiku? No! You’ve got it wrong—”_

_“Oui~ for Arthur and I are a pair.” Francis said holding the other by his waist and lightly nuzzling Arthur’s neck._

_A shudder was the immediate response Francis got from Arthur._

_“Bloody frog, you best let go or else…”_

Gilbert clearly recalled the protesting from Arthur but true enough the reciprocated kiss that followed after the protests was proof enough that those two actually had something more than mere friendship going on. Of course Gilbert felt silly after that. He couldn’t think clearly and realized he had just been a big baby. He scrunched up his face feeling foolish at lying in front of Kiku nonetheless. He did not like lying unless it was to the benefit of another but this was more to save his own skin he supposed.

“Ah thanks Kiku. I guess I just didn’t want to bother but I’ll keep that in mind next time.”

The Japanese had a feeling there was more behind that but decided not to push further.

“Well, I am glad you are feeling better now, or at least you look it.”

“Ja. I am.”

“Good.”

Both males smiled at each other, but there was still the tiny hindrance of a feeling in both of them. They knew they hadn’t talked it out.

“Gilbert-kun.”

“Kiku.”

They blinked in unison and chuckled.

“You can go first Kiku.” The albino gestured.

Kiku nodded and muttered a _thank you_.

“I truly apologize if I have upset you in any way. I feel like you have been distant for the past week, ever since we had that discussion and we never did talk about it properly because of the events that followed. I will admit, I was upset. I was upset because I did not understand where your anger was coming from or what your words were even hinting at.”

The albino couldn’t help but look at all of Kiku’s features. He looked so upset, not even at Gilbert, but at himself. That was so like Kiku, to put most of the blame on himself, even when it wasn't his fault.

“If my mentioning of Elizabeta-san was what triggered it then I sincerely apologize because it was none of my concern and I do not know why I reacted the way I did. It was childish and I will not say anymore on the topic if you so wish.” The Japanese finished speaking finally looking up to meet with sorrowful crimson eyes.

He was speechless. Mostly because Kiku had the sincere intention of apologizing and his honesty was always something to appreciate. It was something Gilbert would always appreciate.

“Nein, you didn’t upset me. I was angry at myself for acting like a Dummkopf. You had every right to be upset. I really was being—” Gilbert couldn’t finish his sentence. Had no idea what to even say next.

Was that it? Was he going to just confess? How did one go about that anyway? They were saying sorry to each other not confessing.

“It is fine Gilbert-kun. I am just glad to be speaking properly with you again.” Kiku said with a warm smile, so warm that Gilbert could even say his face glowed as he passed him by offering to make him tea.

Gilbert’s mind wandered as he mumbled a _sure_ to his friend watching the small of his back get further and further.

* * *

 

So things were back to _normal_ for them, but Gilbert still hadn’t confessed. He kept hearing something about timing and what not from Elizabeta and Mei. It was really frustrating because he just wanted to tell Kiku that he was _probably_ in love with him. Okay, not probably, he definitely was, but it was almost embarrassing to think about. He'd always be Kiku's friend first and foremost. It wasn’t until somehow the topic of _love_ steered into the conversation due to a piece of literature they had been discussing for German class in Kiku’s library. It was then that it hit Kiku. Gilbert had _openly_ admitted to being in love.  
  
"Ah, so, you are…in _love_?" The Japanese said trying not to show any other hint of emotion.  
  
His onyx colored eyes stayed ever so neutral.  
  
"Th-That's right." Gilbert said looking straight at Kiku, attempting to read him.  
  
"Oh, I-I wish you the best of luck then, Gilbert-kun. M-May the both of you find true happiness." He smiled but Gilbert recognized that smile. It was that smile that Kiku had mastered at showing politeness to others. There was no true sincerity behind it.

Although it didn't feel right Kiku forced himself to feel happy for his friend. It was only natural. And in truth the albino’s happiness should have came first. Suddenly, Gilbert let out a frustrated sigh. That was not the response he expected but he was going to get his thoughts across for sure this time whether or not it was the _appropriate_ timing. Kiku frowned, wondering if he had said anything offensive. It was dead silent and all he heard was a sigh from his friend.  
  
It's not as if he could tell him that he didn't want him to love another. That went against the promise to only admire from afar as Kiku was so used to doing. He did not want to let his own feelings get in the way of anything more.

He was not worthy either way because Gilbert, well, while Gilbert never discriminated he had never shown his actual preference in people. Kiku easily got overshadowed by people as brilliant and active as Gilbert. It would be like putting himself next to Alfred. Alfred would easily outshine him, especially when it came to talking to people and being social. Kiku always felt so small and dull and Gilbert was always so great, so _awesome_ , and radiant like he would put it. So he played the part of a supportive friend who would be the shoulder to cry on, the friend who would hear everybody’s troubles, despite that annoying sting in his chest.  
  
"I-Is something wrong? Have I upset you in any way again?" Kiku asked with caution.  
  
Gilbert was silent for a moment. He closed the book he was looking at then, and walked past Kiku, re-shelving it. Outside, the night had arrived. The only light in the miniature library was from the moon and some stars, everything was painted in a soft blue. Kiku wondered if he should go and turn on the lights in the room, but thought against it because the mood in itself was already delicate enough.  
  
The albino took a deep breath. It was Kiku, his close friend, his companion, his study partner and whatever other title they’d given each other. He knew that Kiku really underestimated himself. He had to be more obvious of course, but Mein gott it was difficult. He turned to Kiku then, staring at him with such an intense gaze that the raven haired male was about to go weak in the knees.  
  
"He is polite and quite easy to speak to." Gilbert said abruptly clearing his throat.  
  
"Pardon?" Kiku blinked in confusion at the sudden comment.  
  
"The person I love." An embarrassed soft chuckle escaped the albino's lips.  
  
"I see." Kiku said nothing more.  
  
"And soft spoken. He needs to speak up more! He can be a real pushover but I tell him he should work on that too! He’s an amazing person and he needs to see that. I wish he'd see what I saw in him. He’s also very—" Gilbert lowered his head and muttered, " _beautiful_..."  
  
Kiku remained quiet, such feeling and softness coming from the other. He could feel something below the surface of the albino's words, but he couldn't tell what exactly. It was probably obvious, but Kiku had convinced himself already that nothing would happen because they were good friends. He convinced himself that he was fine with a one sided love.  
  
And _he_?? Gilbert said _he._.. Kiku had noted.  
  
But it was the way that the albino spoke that confused him the most, the hint of pink on his cheeks, the sudden nervousness. Something was happening he could tell, but he refused to believe it.  
  
"A-And I would do anything for him. He just has to say the word. I already try to be there for him when he needs it. I wish he would let me take care of him more often but I know he’d get mad. He tells me he is capable of taking care of himself and I know..." He chuckled again with a tender smile on his face. "He hates it when I ruffle his hair and tickle him when he looks mad but he always somehow makes sure I'm happy. He cares a lot about others and has a big heart. And sometimes I just make sure to be his outlet because as much as he denies that he even needs it and he's there for others all the time and I just like to be there for him too. I guess you could say I am helping him in German at the moment. I make him call me his sensei as a joke because he is like my student and a very hardworking one at that. One that I very much admire."  
  
The moonlight shone on the albino and made his pale white skin glow. It was such a lovely image for Kiku, but it wasn't an image for him specifically. Gilbert was glowing because of the person he was talking about.  
  
"Is that so?" The Japanese responded softly, looking to his hands clasped before him, "You both sound perfect for one another, Gilbert-kun."  
  
However, when he glanced up, the albino was frowning then, dissatisfied and frustrated. Finally, he spoke.  
  
"Mein gott Kiku. Can you not tell what a confession is? You'd think that last bit would have been the biggest hint of all."  
  
_What…?_  
  
_Oh._

It all made sense to him now that he could just pour cold water all over himself and let the heat that took over his face go away. The light blushing, the nervousness, the frustration, the sensei joke,—it suddenly dawned on Kiku what Gilbert had been saying the whole time, and the uncomfortable feeling he had before was replaced with joy, joy and embarrassment and, suddenly, _realization_. 

“I—I like Gilbert-kun very much as well—no...wait..." He paused and let out a short breath. "I _love_ Gilbert-kun too.” Kiku said with a gentle smile that made every other facial feature of his light up and Gilbert knew it was not the moon shining on him or even the stars. It was Kiku’s natural glow, that beautiful glow of happiness.

* * *

 

“Ne, Luddy, do you think your brother finally told Kiku? He’s sitting by that window looking a bit gloomy…” Feliciano had said with a frown as he stood next to Ludwig looking over.

“Uh, I’m not sure Feliciano. I would think he had? My bruder never likes to leave things unfinished.”

Ludwig never spoke about those sorts of things to his older brother anyway and it was never his place to intervene. It was the same with Kiku, so it had actually been his first time hearing of all of this. He would usually ignore any talk he’d hear about the possibilities of Kiku and Gilbert liking one another. He’d believe it once he’d seen it with his own eyes or heard it from either of them.

“Maybe Kiku rejected him…? I could have sworn they liked each other…” The auburn haired male pouted. “I should make Gilbert some pasta… maybe he’d smile!”

“Sometimes things aren’t what they seem and nein. We should leave my bruder alone for now.”

“But we should help.” The Italian protested.

“Feliciano, we don’t even know if that’s what is occupying his thoughts in the first place. We should not meddle.”

“But—”

They stopped going back and forth in the conversation when they saw Kiku pass them as he lightly bowed and greeted them. He then walked over to a pensive Gilbert at the windowsill.

“Maybe Kiku can cheer him up? Or maybe he’s here to apologize for rejecting him!” Feliciano whispered.

The light haired blond growled for the Italian to be quiet.

Kiku then raised his hand to lightly and gently pat Gilbert’s head and with that the albino immediately looked up to see a curious pair of onyx with hints of chocolate brown colored eyes staring right at him. Gilbert’s face instantly lit up and he laughed because he was usually the one to do that to Kiku, but it surely felt great to get patted. He went on to tease Kiku about it, but it was greatly appreciated. Both males engaged in conversation and it was as if all that said gloominess left the room. They were in their own little world once more.

Ludwig and Feliciano were surprised but somehow understood afterwards that those two had their own language of understanding between one another and of course seeing his older brother smile so genuinely was always a rare but wanted sight for Ludwig. He was more than content at seeing Gilbert happy.

“He just needed Kiku to smile! Ve~ that’s so sweet!”

“I guess.” The German said with a light smile.

The truth of it was that Gilbert never needed Kiku to smile, but Kiku was always one of the first things that instantly made his day easier to deal with and that was more than enough for him because not many things in his life brightened his day as easily as his friend's presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say aside from wanting to write so much for these loser babies.


	25. Day 25 - Gazing into eachothers’ eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find myself super stressed because my finals will continue until next week and I just... THBRNKEDNUBEKD
> 
> I just want to write some decent prupan.
> 
> Onto the story.

If you asked him, Prussia wouldn’t be able to tell you if he liked dark colored eyes with hints of chocolate brown, _yes specifically chocolate brown_ , or just Japan’s eyes. The color somehow blended with the Japanese’s creamy complexion. Then there were times where his eyes made the rest of his features stand out or maybe it was just his complexion which made his eyes stand out all the more. At first glance Japan always seemed so small, fragile, and even delicate. It was simple to assume he’d be unable to take care of himself let alone stand his ground as a successful nation. Prussia knew Japan was much more than that. When getting to know him, he knew the other was beyond that.

He was graceful, strong, hard working, gentle, but stern. He was a fierce warrior who was a valuable and loyal ally. There was an endless list of words to describe him, but Prussia came to accept all of Japan long ago when they deepened their bond. The smaller nation’s dark strands of hair would every once in a while fall over his eyes, especially when he’d be too busy looking at the floor instead of making eye contact. Prussia couldn’t help but find every little detail amusing.

He enjoyed gazing into those softly warm looking eyes, and always thought he understood better why people referred to the eyes as pools, or even windows to the soul. People would especially say Japan’s eyes were nothing but hollow, dark hollow eyes that were unreadable and an endless darkness with no sign of light. Of course Prussia would have agreed when he first met the other, but he supposed fate had a funny way of doing things. Those _hollow_ dark eyes eventually gained more emotion to them as he grew to know the Japanese nation and learned more about him, like how there was much more behind his small appearance. While the albino loved observing and even catching onto subtle little hints or actions, every time their eyes met he thought he could see more, deeper, simple things he hadn’t caught before at first sight.

Japan intrigued him after realizing his true nature, after observing his tenacity and inner strength. He learned more than he knew each time about him like how despite seeming apathetic (which was completely wrong), Japan always had such warmth, such compassion, and such care. While being truly reserved and soft spoken, they’d grown to really get to know one another along with their habits. Prussia eventually caught on to certain hints like how whenever he looked at Japan for more than a few seconds, as though on instinct _—_ he’d blink a few times as if trying to read Prussia’s intentions and depending on what he’d gather by simple observation he’d either look away occupying himself with whatever he was doing or his eyebrows would lightly furrow as he’d attempt a staring contest.

Yes, Japan was very good at keeping his neutral expressions with almost anyone, but Prussia was pretty good at provoking him or getting him flustered. These two things would definitely elicit more emotion out of the smaller male more than anything else. Prussia surely thrived out of seeing those onyx colored eyes light up. Above all else, it was a heartwarming experience, and whenever their eyes met for long, Prussia was taken over by a sense of content and peace, a one of a kind sensation he only got when he was with his dear friend, dear love. It made him only all too eager to repeat the experience whenever possible.  
  
Japan eventually got used to Prussia’s odd habits as well. The staring and gazing thing especially, he eventually stopped fighting it because he realized the albino thrived off of teasing him. One thing that certainly stood out to Japan about Prussia at first glance were those deep colored crimson red eyes. They were such a rare and beautiful sight along with his silver like hair and pale complexion. Those eyes had a look of utter passion and determination. His admiration eventually turned into an infatuation of sorts, which he had no idea what to do about. Aside from finding himself taking more sneaky glances at Prussia (which Prussia did notice but didn’t bother thinking anything more of at first) while he was at work or waking up in the middle of the night to a pair of worried crimson red eyes and a small scolding for overworking. He never denied that Prussia was an amazing person. From the beginning he respected the albino and wanted to learn more from him, wanted to stand at his side along with the rest of the nations. He wanted to be recognized as capable and strong. Prussia was his bridge to new beginnings. What he hadn’t expected was to fall deeper into said infatuation, but fate really did have fun with him.

Prussia genuinely did the gazing thing often. He liked looking at Japan work. He enjoyed seeing Japan be himself and the Japanese couldn’t deny not doing the same, but he wasn’t as obvious about it or in other terms, _shameless_. Japan would simply stare when the other wasn’t looking, like when he dozed off at his desk too, or when he was busy doing something else, especially with his back turned. Japan would tell himself that it was not impolite if Prussia wasn’t aware, right?

It wasn’t until Prussia finally decided to ask him why he always looked away one day.

_“Why do you do that?” The albino said leaning his cheek into the palm of his hand._

_“Why do I do what, Prussia-kun?” Japan blinked a bit taken back by the sudden question._

_“You look away. It’s like you’re too embarrassed to make eye contact or something. You know I do know that you take looks at the awesome me.” Prussia replied proudly._

_And at that moment if Japan had denied feeling his face heat up he’d be lying to himself. Whether or not he had a slight hint of pink, only Prussia knew. Seeing the other’s poker face didn’t help. They sat side by side at their desk area and nothing was happening. Prussia liked seeing reactions, results, not bottled up emotions and faked expressions._

_“Gomen'nasai_ _. I did not mean to upset you.” Japan lowered his head._

_“You’re not upsetting me. Just be honest—just be you. It’s more than okay to look at me.” Once again the albino looked proudly over to his friend._

_And at times Japan wished he could seem that confident, especially when he was technically looking over at Prussia and possibly even resembling some pining lover which he was certainly not._

_“Hai. I will.”_

_“Then look at me. Take a good look! Kesesese!”_

_“Excuse me?”_

_Japan blinked a bit confused, but it was Prussia and Prussia usually liked to be straight forward when it came to his words. So he listened carefully._

_“I’m doing you a favor! Take advantage!”_

_“Prussia-kun!? I could never take advantage of a friend—”_

_“Nonsense! That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the situation, here.” He took his hands into the smaller nation’s and Japan could of sworn he wanted to jump out of his seat and run off but the mere shock of contact felt like a jolt, a strange jolt, an exciting one even. Then again, he was too busy focusing on the fast pacing of his heart and his pulse. The flushing he could feel on his face was instant and Prussia was sort of closer to him at that moment. Their faces were inches apart and—_

_“Oh! Sorry. Am I too close? Let me get a bit further. I forget, the personal space thing. You have to remind me sometimes.” The albino said apologetically._

_And Prussia backed off a few inches, still keeping Japan’s hands in his own. Japan could only feel thankful for the thoughtfulness, but he wanted to correct him and tell him that having his hands held wasn’t exactly part of space either. The albino eventually lifted the other’s hands to his face and left them there._

_“W-W-What is this?” The smaller nation asked looking alarmed._

_“Shhhh. Just look at my face and I’ll take a good look at yours.”_

_“Prussia-kun, I believe this is not a normal activity between—”_

_“We’re anything but normal, Japan. Think of it as an icebreaker.”_

_“But I already know who you are—”_

_“Just, trust me, ja?”_

_Japan gulped, but figured he could try. He could try to adapt to the Western culture, regardless of how odd every single one of them were. He could try to ignore every other lovesick symptom he was getting and just indulge in the moment of closeness with his ally. He could do that and he did just that, the simple act of gazing into each other’s eyes. It was something that was always taken for granted, but Prussia supposed he’d thank Italy for the idea. Hearing him talk about how embarrassed and shy Germany would get with him gazing over at him along with shying away or yelling at him. It was adorable. He'd also always hear from Francis how gazing into someone's eyes was a truly romantic gesture. It was body language that could become your own perfected language depending on how much you knew the other person, but in truth Prussia had no idea why he even requested it from Japan of all people. It started out as a simple and curious gesture, but he supposed Japan’s eyes always gave him true comfort at the end of the day and it took a long while to figure it out. Maybe that was why he always came back to Japan._

  
Eventually when the two openly admitted their feelings, it was then that Prussia loved it even more when Japan looked at him, and their eyes met yet again. The smaller nation’s eyes weren’t always calming, sometimes they looked distressed. That was when Prussia would silently stare back without a word. Japan often seemed as though he was caught in the act when it happened, and Prussia could envision everything that ever plagued Japan’s mind - the doubt, the uneasiness, the self-esteem that could suddenly just plummet to the ground, but when Prussia would give him a gentle supporting grin those same eyes that had hints of doubt would instantly shine. They would immediately brighten up as if they were smiling too and have reassurance, happiness, warmth, and most of all an unconditional love to them. It always made Prussia want to hold Japan, embrace him tightly, and make sure he never felt anything negative ever again, but he was also aware that Japan could take care of himself. He knew Japan didn’t like being treated weakly and he respected that.

It was an odd sort of silent agreement between them both. Either that or their eyes did a lot of talking between those stares and gazes. To put it simply, when they’d gaze into each other’s eyes, every trouble that would cloud Japan’s mind would melt away, and Prussia was rewarded with the view of everything that was good, and pure, and beautiful about Japan, the nation of the rising sun, _his_ sun.

“Prussia-kun?” Japan waved his hand in front of Prussia’s field of vision.

“Ja?” The albino looked up to find the other looking slightly worried.

“We’re going to be late to the meeting.”

“Why am I going in today?” He raised an eyebrow and hoped for immediate answers.

Maybe he had been daydreaming a bit too much. He hadn’t remembered anything about a meeting.

“I told America-san about your idea the other day and asked him I’d be bringing you along to discuss it with the rest of G-8. I’d like to credit you for it as well.”

“Ah, I’m not really good at sitting still for that stuff.” Prussia said nonchalantly.

“Prussia-kun, you are a _liar_.” The smaller male stated bluntly.

“What?!” The albino had an almost offended look.

“You can sit still and pay attention when you want to. You only like to act like you do not care for those matters half the time.”

“Whatever… I suppose if you are asking for my needed presence I shall go.”

Japan felt the corners of his mouth faintly curve up in slight victory. The albino grinned in response as he got up from his desk chair and immediately swung his arm around the smaller nation’s neck. Japan slightly jumped at the action but calmed himself shortly after and they were off to the meeting.

Did Prussia also mention he liked being included in Japan’s things? Because he really did like it. That was one of the many reasons he stuck to Japan’s company. He liked feeling important. The Japanese every now and then would gaze into those same crimson red eyes to get just a bit of positive inspiration whenever he was anxious too.

"You know, I can still tell when you look at me and it makes me really happy, just for your information." The albino smirked.

Japan felt his face slightly heat up from embarrassment. "Am I _that_ predictable?" He looked at his partner who had his arm swung over him once more as they walked side by side.

"Oh mon cher, it is because he speaks the same language as you now~"

The Japanese turned to see a smiling France briefly waving.

"Body language, it speaks louder than words. It just means he really pays good attention to you."

Japan blinked unable to respond.

"Good day to you both~ My deed is done seeing as you're speechless!" France said passing them by hurriedly.

Japan and Prussia both wondered why France had seemed so rushed. The albino figured his friend would have gloated, teased or even pried more into the situation.

"Oi, France, why are you destroying their day already with your horrifying presence?" England said walking by in a rushed manner as well.

Japan wondered if they had some sort of race going on?

"Shush, you  _mouton noir_. I cannot hear you from over there for I am up ahead, heading to our destination."

"What did you say you FROG?"

"M-o-u-t-o-n n-o-i-r." France spelled it out tauntingly.

"I'm not stupid! I know what it means, you're getting it you stupid wanker!"

But before England could even land a good blow to the Frenchman he was interrupted.

"Heyyy! Iggy! France! Japan! Oh Prussia, yo guys!" America appeared and swung an arm over England who had actually caught up to France, which left America sandwiching in between them both. "So yesterday I was having a weird dream. I'm usually the hero saving the day but this time I saw a gigantic—"

"Oh mein gott, can I go home? I don't need to hear a good 20 minutes of some dream that America had."

Japan stabbed Prussia in the gut as they walked into their said destination finally with a chuckling France.

"Oh, right I'm doing this for you." Prussia grinned proudly ruffling the other's hair.

"Prussia-kun, please stop!" Japan swatted his hand away.

"Wait, Japan, so what idea did Prussia contribute to exactly?" England asked with a raised brow as everyone stopped in their tracks.

"I would like to discuss eye gazing and the said effects of how it works as a good icebreaker."

France, England, and Prussia stayed speechless.

"Uhm. That's _great_." England said clenching his teeth.

"Mon dieu, why?" France blurted out.

"Because we never take the time to simply observe one another. We could learn a lot more from each other if we took the time! Everyone has been extremely on edge lately and I believe eye gazing would lessen the tension. It is something intimate but if we get to know one another then we could possibly benefit from this and you all seem to be very open with this custom in the West. Prussia-kun and I tried it."

"Honhonhon~ I'm sure you surely _benefited_." The Frenchman said with a chuckle and wink.

"But we're not here to make bloody friends, and Russia is a creepy son of a _—_ " England cleared his throat deciding not to finish the sentence.

"That is why you have no friends, lapin." France pointed out.

England scowled.

"Japan seemed pretty passionate about it so I said why not and he's right we've been pretty edgy." America responded with his signature grin.

"England-san... am I not your friend?" Japan said with clear hurt in his eyes.

_Oh no..._

"He's a jerk. He clearly stated not being your friend so just ditch the guy." Prussia said huffing while adding more fire to the situation.

"What?! No! Japan, you're my friend! The only actual logical friend! I agree! I agree! The idea is great! Let's do it!" England said with instant agreement.

France held in his laughter and Prussia did too as the Englishman glared at them both.

"Touch me inappropriately and I'll poke your damn eyes out, FROG."

"Oui, but I'll be too busy staring into those beautiful green emerald _— wait_ , I am quite honored you'd assume we'd be gazing partners." The Frenchman said fluttering his eyelashes.

"Oh bloody hell. Shut up." England reacted with a light blush of embarrassment. "Let's get this damn meeting started, America."

"Aiyah! Finally! We've been waiting for you guys to sit down already, aru." China said with clear frustration.

"Don't mind us, carry on. It was amusing, especially when England called me a creepy son of a _—_ hmm I wonder what that last word was. Care to elaborate?" The Russian nation said with a subtly menacing smile.

"You're screwed, good luck!" Prussia said giving England a smack on the back as he took a seat next to his brother Germany.

"Hey West."

"Hello bruder. I'm surprised to see you here."

"Ve~ I'm excited to see what fun activity Japan has!" Italy said cheerfully spinning his chair around.

"Just get ready to get all blushy and cutesy like you always do when Italy-chan looks into your eyes, West."

"What...? How is this even _—_ " Germany gaped and wondered if each meeting was starting to get too ridiculous for his taste. He hadn't expected that from Japan of all nations.

"Germany blushing?! He does that a lot lately you know!"  The Italian said tilting his head.

"I'm sure he does, kesesese!"

Okay, Germany would definitely have to find  way to get his older brother back for the whole situation because the only way Japan would ever come up with something ridiculous and believe it to be a plausible reason for something would be for _someone_ , like his brother, to give him these said ideas.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gazing/staring/looking, same difference to me.
> 
> LOL


	26. Day 26 - Getting Married

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woaaaaaah. I finally updated. It's been a long while. I was having a real bad writer's block not to mention life just kind of got in the way. I miss this OTP dearly and I just want to finish this challenge so I took my sweet sweet time with this. It isn't the best but bear with me since I myself have never gotten married LOL! This is Alternate Universe just FYI.
> 
> Oh right, Abel = Netherlands, Anri = Belgium for mentioned names is all.

Arthur had noticed how odd Kiku had been acting for the past day while the Japanese was showing him and Francis around Tokyo. A lot of Kiku's friends were from different countries and they usually all met up during the summer except for one specific person whom visited a lot more often than the rest. The Englishman noticed the quieter than usual nature from his friend and well, he invited himself over while letting Kiku know ahead of time of course. And he supposed he was right to worry because the text he received before bed the day before blew his mind.

“So you and Gilbert…? I wouldn’t have _ever_ imagined it to be honest.” Arthur said while taking a quick sip from his cup. “And no that wasn’t sarcasm.” He huffed.

“Well, I expected you and Francis-san but I suppose you are the only one who keeps thinking it was unexpected.” Kiku gave a small smile with a look of amusement afterwards because Arthur completely stopped in his tracks and gave an expression of pure disbelief.

“Seriously? With _him_?”

“Arthur-san, it is not good to avoid important questions such as those pertaining to your—”

“Shush! This is about you and Gilbert, Kiku! Stop changing the subject.” Arthur interrupted as he furrowed his eyebrows and cleared his throat. “Please.”

The Japanese sighed at his friend’s stubbornness.

“So you and Gilbert, getting married?” The Englishman continued, though he had a bit of struggle letting those words get out of his own mouth.

While he and Kiku were very close friends, he was also a bit on the protective side, and if there was anyone that annoyed him (which many would argue it was the reason he hardly even had friends to begin with), it was Gilbert Beilschmidt. He no personal grudge against the guy, but he had the tendency to be annoyance and around Francis he was even more annoying. It had to be him, didn’t it? Sometimes Francis liked to tease him about being too much of a terrible mother hen with Kiku or anyone else.

“Have you at least given it a bit of thought? The question Francis-san asked you, before we carry on with my own situation of course.” Kiku, nudged at his friend.

Arthur nearly choked on his tea while going in for another sip. He carefully set down his cup.

“Look! I’ll think about it after you explain this whole crazy thing going on with that potato wanker of yours!” He said sternly.

Kiku couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle and nodded in response.

“Well… he briefly mentioned the idea.” The Japanese started timidly.

“What?”

“We spoke of it. He brought it up. It was— _new_ and _different_.”

“New? Different?” Arthur quirked an eyebrow. “Well of course it was new and different. He bloody asked you to marry him! That’s not an everyday type of question.”

“No! He didn’t. It was just… well, I suppose he did—” Kiku made a variety of oddly embarrassed gestures.

“Look Kiku, as much as I don’t mind the riddles or dancing around the topic, I can’t exactly get a clear message here. Care to elaborate?”

The Japanese took a good pause, stared at his own tea cup, tracing the smooth edges in brief thought, the corners of his mouth faintly curved upward and he nodded.

“Of course.”

* * *

 

_Gilbert put an arm around Kiku’s waist and pulled him closer. The smaller male sighed contently and pulled the light blanket over their naked bodies. He closed his eyes trying not to let the embarrassment hit him but it was blissful. Gilbert felt he could honestly stay that way under their blanket forever as well and he knew for a fact Kiku felt just as comfortable because for starters, Kiku Honda didn’t really do naked unless he was bathing. Screw life and the outside world, he had Kiku pressed up against his chest with his hand drawing lines on his back, which the smaller male responded to by adorably humming and he couldn’t have been any happier._

_“I’m just really cozy right now,” Gilbert mumbled with closed eyes._

_“Hai… I am too Gilbert-kun,” Kiku answered tiredly and he placed a soft kiss on Gilbert’s skin. If Kiku had to get up, Gilbert wouldn’t let him get up for anything in the world at that moment. He wanted his lover to stay as close as possible, not to mention the radiating body heat made it all the better. Gilbert entwined their hands and their feet under the blanket. Sometimes when they lay like that, all cuddled up against each other, he forgot which body parts were his and which were Kiku’s but it really didn't feel as creepy as the thought sounded. Actually, he liked the idea of being able to become one from time to time, mind-wise especially. It was something extremely different, but that sort of connection Gilbert knew he couldn’t just have with anyone. Their touches and their expressions were more than enough to communicate._

_“So let's never get up again, okay?,” Gilbert whispered barely audible with a quick yawn and Kiku knew he was only minutes away from drifting off._

_“But Gilbert-kun, we are going to eventually get up to bathe and put new clothes on—” he got interrupted when a finger was firmly pressed against his lips._

_His eyes met with crimson red ones. Gilbert’s eyes were always so expressive. If it wasn’t his mouth, it was his eyes or eyebrows. His voice was the most obvious of course. Kiku liked how expressive Gilbert could be, but sometimes… even he was unpredictable and—_

_“Kiku.” The albino paused to simply lower his gaze at him and leaned on his lover’s forehead. “What does marriage mean to you?” He asked mumbling against Kiku’s dark strands of hair._

_Kiku instantly froze at the question. He had definitely not been expecting that one._

_“W-What?” He tried not to sound too taken by surprise as he slightly pulled away._

_“Marriage, what would you say is your definition for it? Everybody always says something a bit different.” Gilbert mused leaning back in and nuzzling the other._

_Kiku paused a bit, taking in the question and realizing that his partner was serious. He pushed the albino’s face away with his palm as Gilbert pouted in response._

_“I would believe it to be a legally binding contract between spouses which helps establish rights and obligations between them.”_

_The albino yawned, “Wow, that sounded kind of boring, kesesese! But I agree. It has good beneficial rights with the correct person. It is a legally binding contract.”_

_Kiku pursed his lips in response, “Care to share your thoughts then since mine were too mundane for you?”_

_Gilbert grinned that all knowing grin that Kiku usually loved, but at that moment he was more than curious as to what the albino had to say._

_“Well… I don’t know it never really crossed my mind until now. I mean, don’t freak out okay? You just make me think of these things sometimes,” Gilbert started running his thumb over Kiku’s hands, stroking his knuckles softly. Kiku could only nod and continue looking over at Gilbert with warm eyes attempting to understand the suddenness. “It’s just a thought is all, but disregarding those benefits and legal rights, I figure marriage is a union between two people who want to spend the rest of their lives together. You know when you find that one person and you just click with them and they make you feel things you didn’t think were possible? And even when you fight you know you can get through it and just go back to being yourselves? That person that you want to do anything with or even nothing with and you’d be okay with it either way?”_

_“Ah, the emotional side to marriage. That almost sounds similar to a best friend.” Kiku said as he traced the lines on Gilbert’s palm carefully._

_“Exactly, but you can be both lovers and best friends. I guess what I mean is… it’s just a way to make your relationship more official and permanent. I like the idea of marriage, though I never figured I’d be the one bringing this up since I didn’t picture it myself but... it’s nice. Plus it makes you feel important.”_

_Gilbert exhaled and closed his eyes. He hadn’t expected himself to bring the topic up, at least not while they were lying naked together but he certainly hoped Kiku wouldn’t catch onto his rosy cheeks._

_“You have a very beautiful and sentimental definition for it, Gilbert-kun.” Kiku said squeezing Gilbert’s hand._

_The albino opened his eyes and turned to look at the other. “Eh? I do?”_

_“Hai… It’s quite romantic in its own way.”_

_“But of course! So uhm, Kiku?” Gilbert gazed at Kiku, his expression turning more serious._

_“What is it Gilbert-kun?” The smaller male asked while looking up at his partner._

_“Uh… have you heard?”_

_“Hm?” Kiku raised an eyebrow._

_“About Francis proposing to Arthur? And how the spoiled prince proposed to Lizzie?”_

_“I did. It’s quite exciting to know that our friends will be getting married soon,” Kiku replied with a small smile._

_He had a feeling that wasn’t what Gilbert wanted to say, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself and assume. Though to be truthful, the look of sudden panic when Gilbert spoke kind of hinted at something else. They were aware of each other’s presence all the time, bodies as close as possible under the small blanket. They instead continued talking about their friends’ love lives but the afterglow slowly dragged them into a light sleep. Both males eventually did get off the futon reluctantly, when Kiku realized they hadn’t even bathed and sure enough as a price for dragging him up off the futon, Gilbert pulled Kiku into the bath with him. Gilbert figured maybe he’d have the courage to bring up his question eventually._

* * *

 

“That wanker backed out!” Arthur slammed his fist against the table.

“Arthur-san… my table…”

“Oh, sorry.” The Englishman sat back down properly. “He backed out! He was insinuating a proposal there.”

Kiku was speechless. He had no idea what to say. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to get married but he never thought of it for himself. As a solitary person, he never really pictured this moment ever. It was nice, but very complicated even if he’d wish to… especially in his own country. Same sex marriage wasn’t exactly legal, but things were being worked around with that law. Maybe someday soon it would be. It was nice to know that in other countries it was starting to be legalized.

“Either way, it’d be too complicated to get married for either of us.” The Japanese responded with his usual monotone voice.

“You know, you could go to another country and get married there right?” Arthur said with a curious look. “Are you scared?”

“Aren’t you?” Kiku shot back.

Besides, why was Arthur making it sound so easy? It wasn’t like moving to another country was easy.

“What?! I’m not!” The Englishman said crossing his arms against his chest while looking away.

“Then why have you not answered Francis-san? How long has it been?”

“Well… I…” Arthur sighed. “It’s not like I don’t love the stupid git, but… I’m just… I have my insecurities too. We _fight_.”

Kiku blinked expecting more.

“What?” Arthur inquired while giving Kiku an offended look.

“Oh, gomen… I thought you had more to say. Arthur-san, you and Francis-san fight yes, but that is how you two communicate. You challenge each other every single time. You both get a certain thrill off of it. It is just both your unique ways of understanding and communicating.”

“That sounds too meaningful. We just fight too much, sometimes about pointless crap too.” Arthur said with grumble.

“Possibly, but Arthur-san, you like to fight and he gets just as much out of it as you do. You two certainly fill in those gaps for one another.” Kiku said with a light chuckle.

“I-I… I do NOT like to fight!” The Englishman retorted.

“Hai, hai…” The Japanese replied with a clear look of disbelief.

“I don’t!”

“Well, you two have been together for a very long time as friends and now as lovers, why be afraid? Is it really that much of a difference?”

“Well—no. I just don’t want to be one of those damn couples that gets married, goes through a honeymoon phase, and then divorces because _it’s_ gone. Marriage should be a forever thing, but what if it makes us miserable?” The Englishman said with a deep frown.

“Arthur-san, Francis-san has stayed with you this whole time and it seems you are underestimating him. You both have seen a variety of sides from each other. I believe if you two wouldn’t have been able to handle or deal with one another neither of you would be as close as you are now. You love him, correct?” Kiku inquired with a slight tilt of his head.

Arthur instantly felt his face heat up and fidgeted in his seat as he took a liking to staring at the floor.

“If you do not, then I suggest you stop playing with Francis-san’s feelings. It is a cruel thing to—”

“I do.” The Englishman blurted out. “I love that stupid frog and I see myself waking up every damn bloody morning with him and us eating breakfast that _I_ clearly made, and us supporting each other with our careers, and calling one another if either of us would be late getting back home. I think of our life too if we lived together, fighting over stupid furniture and arrangements, yeah. It’s a silly thing but it’s _nice_.”

Kiku simply smiled at his friend giving an understanding nod when a hand lightly landed on Arthur’s shoulder.

“I do too, mon amour. I really do, but I must correct you on one part. I’ll be the one cooking because mon dieu, you will kill me with your cooking!” Francis said gesturing dramatically.

Arthur immediately turned around with a look similar to a deer caught in the headlights. He was more horrified than embarrassed if anything.

“Wha—”

“What am I doing here?” Francis replied smugly.

“Y-Yes you stupid wanker! You were supposedly out shopping for food in the city! And by the way I’m improving in my cooking thank you very much.”

Francis smiled at the last comment. He knew Arthur was improving. Heck, he test tasted a lot of his things without him noticing.

“Well, I had asked Kiku if it would be alright to stop by since I knew you two would be having a heart to heart moment—oh congratulations by the way Kiku, I heard Gilbert proposed! Maybe we could have a triple wedding? Imagine? How lovely that would be and—oh I’m getting ahead of myself, sorry~ I meant that I wanted to come back here and cook—” The Frenchman received a rough push.

Kiku would have replied by saying that Gilbert did not exactly propose, but he supposed he’d bring it up afterwards because he could tell something was about to ensue.

“What was that for? Feeling shy?” The Frenchman teased.

“Excuse you? I’m not you git.” Arthur abruptly got up off his seat and turned to face the Frenchman.

“I missed you~” Francis gave a quick kiss to the Englishman’s nose.

“Francis!”

“Yes? What is it mon amour? Going to confess more of your love and insecurities?”

“Look here you French bastard, it isn’t nice to sneak up on me and eavesdrop when I’m having a personal talk. And Kiku!?” Arthur turned to his friend. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Francis-san told me to stay silent, gomen.” Kiku spoke with his head lowered.

“I thought you were my friend!”

Francis scoffed while Arthur glared at him. “Ahem, Kiku is my friend too by the way, don’t be greedy.”

“Bullocks!”

“Is he an object now?” Francis shook his head in disapproval.

“No! What the hell?!”

“I will go make sweets while you two talk.” The smaller male said sighing as he started to make his way to the kitchen.

“Huh?” They both said in unison turning towards their friend.

“No, Kiku, cher, show me how to work the oven’s temperature. I will be making some nice sweets this time!” Francis said enthusiastically.

“Oh.” The smaller male blinked.

There were sudden ringing noises coming from Arthur’s pocket.

“Oui, you and I must talk! Arthur, you can go answer your call.”

“Whatever,” the Englishman said with a snarl as the other two males walked into the kitchen.

“So, Kiku~ Gilbert proposed?” Francis said while playfully nudging him.

“No, he did not.”

Francis blinked and stopped in his tracks.

* * *

 

“Wait, wait, why didn’t you call Francis or Kiku?” Arthur spoke into his phone.

_“Trust me, I would have, but neither of them was answering and Elizabeta wanted to go see Kiku and possibly harass Gilbert.”_

He gulped. Forget him and his annoyance for Gilbert. Elizabeta Héderváry was pretty scary in his opinion.

“That… big mouthed twat… he told everyone didn’t he?” Arthur let out a big sigh.

That’s what he got for telling almost everything to Francis when the Frenchman was relentless at poking things out of him, literally.

_“About Gilbert’s proposal? Not exactly, just to Elizabeta and about his proposal to you as well, though it isn’t hard to figure out for her. I suppose I should say congratulations. While I could care less about the fool’s business, Kiku is my friend too and I don’t know whether or not—”_

_“Roderich! Are you talking to Francis? Hand over the phone!” The female asked excitedly._

_Shuffling noises were heard._

_“HELLO?”_

“Hey. It’s Arthur.” The Englishman said with no real enthusiasm.

_“Oh.” Elizabeta responded with an unamused tone. “I—Ugh, where are Kiku and Francis, dear?”_

Arthur could feel his vein bulge out of irritation. “They’re here, just in the kitchen at the moment, preoccupied with making food.”

_“Hm, would you be a dear and let Kiku know we’re coming over? I sent him a text but he never responded.”_

“Sure thing.”

_“Oh and one last thing.”_

“What is it?” Arthur asked anticipating something else, anything else.

_“Congratulations! You and Francis will make a pair of handsome husbands!” Elizabeta shouted into the phone and Arthur could almost perfectly imagine her exaggerated cheering hand gestures._

He slightly pulled his ear away from the phone. He could practically feel all the warmth and gleaming from the other line.

“…Thanks.”

* * *

 

“What?! Oh… non non non! Gilbert needs to learn… Why would he do that? Why hadn’t he come to me for advice?!”

“Francis-san it is quite alright. I did not expect anyone to—”

“Shush. He chickened out! He ran away from a once in a chance lifetime experience of eternal love. That is a sin!”

Kiku sighed. His friend surely could get dramatic when he wanted to. “It really is alright. If those were not his intentions then I do not want to assume.”

“Mon cher, I haven’t asked but, would _you_ want to marry him?”

The long pause continued before Kiku could even form a syllable.

“Kiku! Oh dear, I found you! Where the hell is Gilbert? Depending on his intentions I’m kicking his ass.” Elizabeta stomped right into the kitchen while both Francis and Kiku blinked.

The Japanese gave a quick deadpan stare at his French friend shortly after snapping out of it.

“Francis-san… why did you tell the others of this? It wasn't anything to gossip about.”

Francis pursed his lips. “Kiku… don’t give me that look of pure betrayal! Elizabeta knew from the moment she saw me!”

“Ve~ Ve~ Kiku! Don’t worry! Marriage isn’t scary!” The auburn haired Italian said frantically waving his arms and running through the door. “I was nervous at first too! Because Ludwig looked so scary.”

“Feliciano… this is none of our business…and I did NOT!” Ludwig sighed rubbing at his temples as he walked in a much calmer manner. “I’m sorry Kiku, Feliciano wanted to come and cheer you on but it is not our business, apologies.”

“Oh please. We’re his friends. We’re supporting.” Elizabeta spoke with determination as she rested her hand on her hip.

Kiku closed his eyes and everything just stood still for a moment. He drowned out all the sound and then walked out of the kitchen simply ignoring his friends circling him like vultures either trying to cheer him on or advise him. He really didn’t need any of that. It wasn’t like he actually got proposed to. Gilbert hadn’t even asked him. He liked being a private person, but he definitely hadn’t expected Arthur to tell Francis or for Francis to be too much of a gossip and tell Elizabeta. When Kiku made it to the living room he found the Englishman with his head in his hands.

“Arthur-san?” Kiku asked cautiously. He knew how defensive the Englishman could get if he felt threatened.

“Sorry… I meant to tell you they were all coming over… Sorry about that… Francis can be a big mouth and he just sort of got the information out of me last night when he was tickling—” Arthur caught himself and stopped before finishing that.

Kiku coughed and gave his friend an all knowing look.

“It is fine Arthur-san. I am happy for you and Francis-san.” He turned around to look at his other friends. “And for you and Roderich-san, Elizabeta-san.”

“What about me and Luddy?” Feliciano asked with a slight pout.

“You two are already married. So I am always happy for you both.” The Japanese gave a small smile.

Feliciano opened his eyes wide and smiled back while Ludwig simply coughed up a _thank you_.

“Please, I plead for you all to be silent about this topic. This was not meant to escalate into an issue. I was simply sharing my thoughts with Arthur-san. I do not wish to bother Gilbert-kun with any of this. He did not propose to me.” Kiku asked politely.

“Wait… so he didn’t propose? He just hinted it?!”

“Elizabeta-san…” Kiku gave a stern look and shook his head in disapproval.

Elizabeta wanted to protest more but saw that pleading look from her Japanese friend. She only pouted and nodded along with everyone else. Regardless of the pleading look from her friend, Elizabeta definitely had a few words to say to a certain albino.

* * *

 

“Oh, so you got nervous and just blew it? It’s okay amigo, it happens.” Antonio patted Gilbert’s back sympathetically.

“Oi, Toni… I don’t need sympathy.”

“True, you don’t. He’s saying you were a fool which you were quite frankly.” Roderich said adjusting his glasses.

“I doubt you were any better at proposing to Lizzie and I didn’t even ask for your terrible opinion! Besides your soon to be wife wants to murder me because I didn’t go through with my proposal.” Gilbert said sticking his tongue out.

Roderich attempted to keep his composure while ignoring the childish gesture. “Of course. I was flawless… and as for Elizabeta, have you told her exactly what happened?”

“She told me you were so nervous that it was _adorable_ , that how could she say no to that? Because you looked like you were about to faint. Muy lindo Roddy!” Antonio smiled happily over at his two companions. “Oh and yes, Gil did you tell Elizabeta the actual truth? Misunderstandings aren’t good.”

Gilbert gave a look that simply said, _“No shit”._

“What?! I’d suggest for you to keep your Spanish nonsense to yourself and she…said that?” Roderich could feel the embarrassment creeping up on his face.

“I’m pretty sure he was going to piss his pants. Haha!” Gilbert replied obnoxiously to his Spanish friend.

Roderich could feel a headache coming. “Look you. Why exactly did you pick us up to go to a café?”

“Well, you’re practically married I figured I could ask you and I also want to know how the hell Lizzie found out about my idea? She hasn’t told me. I just got a disturbing text message earlier. Plus, Toni is planning on asking Anri to marry him. I guess I just wanted to clear my head.”

“Anri? Isn’t that Abel’s younger sister?” Roderich said before sipping his coffee.

“Si, she is.”

“Good luck.”

“Ja… good luck.” Gilbert replied similarly as he and Roderich both gave sympathetic looks to Antonio.

They knew how protective the Dutchman could be of his younger sister.

“Now, don’t look so gloom. You can always serenade Kiku and ask him to marry you like that or write him a poem.”

“Wait. Before you go on with that ridiculous idea, where exactly would you be marrying him?” Roderich continued.

Gilbert blinked to the question.

Roderich sighed. “You didn’t think this through did you? Of course not.”

Gilbert gave an irritated frown. “What the heck are you talking about?”

“You are aware that marriage isn’t legal in Japan, correct? And you two do not live together, so moving would be in your options.”

“Well, I kind of figured. I mean I come to visit Kiku really often… but along with asking him to marry me I wanted to ask him to come live with me… Besides, I can wait for however long.”

Roderich and Antonio both blinked for a second at how calm and warm hearted Gilbert’s expression was at that moment. He looked so shy speaking of the subject, it was almost _too_ innocent.

“You irritate me….” The Austrian sighed in clear annoyance.

“Aw… Gil… that was beautiful! You should just say that and be true to him.” Antonio laughed patting his friend.

“What?! What the heck did I do? Oi, princess I’m talking to you.” Gilbert smiled at his Spanish friend for a brief second only to turn to poke Roderich’s side feeling offended at being ignored.

Roderich jumped up in surprise out of his chair only to glare shortly afterward as he smacked the albino’s hand out of the way.

“Good GOD, you have zero manners for personal space. How does Kiku deal with you?!” The Austrian replied in a flustered manner.

“Well, it’s a good thing Kiku will be the one dealing with him huh?” Antonio responded with a laugh.

“Yes but we deal with him almost as much too and we’re _not_ married.”

“Eso se llama la amistad!” The Spaniard spoke even more enthusiastically and dear god the man was too much sunshine for him to handle.

“What?” The Austrian looked even more confused than before.

“ _Friendship_ , Roderich, _friendship_.” Gilbert repeated the term slowly almost in a patronizing manner.

“I’m not an idiot. You don’t have to repeat yourself, once was good enough.”

“Ja, whatever. So how the hell did Lizzie even find out I was planning on asking Kiku? And that I didn’t exactly ask him?”

Roderich sighed, adjusting himself comfortably to his seat again. “She got it out of Francis, who got it out of Arthur, which I’m sure Kiku told him in the first place and she is at Kiku’s house right now.”

Gilbert’s eyes widened. “Wow. That spread around quick.” He said dumbfounded at the piece of information.

“It did, even I knew about it because Francis was worried about you, Gil!” The Spaniard replied. “But now that we know how you really feel, you should be fine!”

For starters, Gilbert Beilschmidt was never really all that great at planning things like these. He could be very organized and even schedule things accordingly. People underestimated him in quite a few areas, even his intelligence, due to his playful exterior similar to his friend Antonio, but that sure as hell never stopped him from doing anything. He could care less what people thought of him. This was different though. Planning on how to propose was definitely something else. These were feelings out on display, for everyone else to see as well. He didn’t care much on telling or showing his love to Kiku in public but saying the exact perfect words, getting the moment right, and all that other crap that Elizabeta and Francis always went on about when it came to romantic gestures confused him.

Half the time when he would get help from them he’d surprise himself when he’d successfully follow directions but this time—this time he wanted to do things on his own. This time it was special. He didn’t want to be perfect. Like Antonio said, he wanted to be _himself_ and _true_. So with a long sigh he had decided to head home and talk to Kiku about it. He thanked his friends for the pep talk. His lover was probably confused or just as irritated as him for how much attention and intervention this subject got. He was probably uncomfortable too. Such thoughts made Gilbert rush home after dropping his friends off.

* * *

 

Okay so Gilbert only ended up dropping off Antonio because Roderich insisted on going with him. Truthfully he just didn’t want to be home alone. He wanted to be with Elizabeta. Anyone else would call it romantic; Gilbert usually called him _clingy_ and made fun of him. Roderich wasn’t clingy. He just didn’t want to waste time at home doing nothing when he could be with his fiancée. Yes, that’s what it was. As Gilbert continued poking fun at him on the way to the door, Elizabeta stepped out.

Gilbert and Roderich blinked in unison to find the Hungarian female staring back at them until she snapped out of her reverie.

“Gilbert! You’re here! Finally. Geez, take all day will you?” She said with a hand placed on her hip.

“What is it woman? Missed your pretty boy?” Gilbert teased.

“He is pretty isn’t he?” Elizabeta said with a gleam in her eyes.

Well, that didn’t work on her, but it did seem to work on Roderich because he was beyond embarrassed. The light pink on his cheeks showed.

Roderich heavily sighed. “Elizabeta…”

“Oh, right. Go talk to Kiku!” The green eyed brunette urged her albino friend.

“Ja… but why is everyone here?” Gilbert asked while taking a small peak through the entrance.

“We all sort of just came over. Whoops.” The Hungarian female said with a hand over her mouth.

“Why are you guys butting in?”

Elizabeta sighed. “Look. It wasn’t just because of you and Kiku. Arthur hasn’t answered Francis’s proposal either. So I actually came here to strangle him, but Francis and Kiku pleaded me to stop and not be so aggressive. I just don’t like the run around… but it’s not my place… I feel like I'm the only who has a normal engagement going on here.” She said disappointedly.

“Exactly. It isn’t. I need to talk to him privately.” Gilbert said seriously. “Sorry Lizzie… but could you leave just for today?”

Elizabeta raised both eyebrows but shortly after softened her features. “Sure. Roderich?”

“Right. But…”

“I brought the car.” Elizabeta said with a small giggle.

As they started to make their way to the car Roderich turned around and said a quick good luck to the albino.

Gilbert could only give a faint smile in return as he walked into Kiku’s home.

“And then Luddy wouldn’t let go! He was so happy to see the puppy. It was cute~ just like him~”

“Uh…Feliciano…” Ludwig coughed with tinted cheeks.

“Ah, yes. Ludwig-san can be very adorable.” Kiku faintly smiled in agreement.

Kiku turned around at the sound of the door opening to see his Gilbert walking in.

“Yo, what’s up losers?” The albino said with a grin.

“Boun retour Gilbert~” Francis waved.

“You sure took your time, wanker.” The Englishman said with a scowl.

“Ah! Hi Gilbert!” Feliciano waved cheerfully.

“Hello Bruder.”

“Okaerinasai, Gilbert-kun.” Kiku responded with a small smile. 

“Ah, now that Gilbert’s home I leave the macaroons to you nicely made Kiku! Arthur and I must go~” 

“We’re leaving?” The Englishman inquired with clear confusion. 

“Oui.” The Frenchman simply nodded. 

“Why—OW!” A long pinch to his cheek, Arthur almost wanted to kick him, but Francis leaned into his ear and whispered, _“Just come with me damn it. No time to be stubborn mon amour. I am sure Gilbert wants to talk to Kiku in private… plus I got a text from him asking for us to leave.”_

 _"Well, why couldn’t he have just planned this so much better. We look weird doing this!”_  

“Why are you two whispering? I want to know too!” The auburn haired Italian pouted. 

“Feliciano! You should come with us. We’re going to go shopping for a bit. We’ll be back eventually you two!” The Frenchman said with a wink directed to Kiku and Gilbert. 

Ludwig sighed already knowing that there was more going on than they were letting on, but shrugged.

“I suppose so. I must buy new treats for my dogs.”

“Ve~ That should be fun let’s go! We’ll be back you two.”

Kiku wondered why all his friends were suddenly leaving. Elizabeta had left with Roderich before anybody else but it happened once Gilbert walked in so maybe—

“Alright, see you guys later.” Gilbert yelled back.

Before Kiku snapped out of his thoughts to say goodbye he looked around and realized everyone had left.

“That was quite odd,” was all he could say.

“Ja. Guess they just decided to do other stuff.” Gilbert shrugged as he looked at Kiku’s face.

Despite having more emotion in him, he still had a damn good poker face when it was convenient.

“Possibly, or they possibly left us to our privacy. I believe you want to speak to me about something?”

“What?!” The albino frowned. “Am I that obvious?”

“No. You actually are not, but our friends are.”

Gilbert noticed the hint of amusement in the Japanese’s tone.

“Damn. Well, ja there is… Let’s go sit?”

Kiku nodded.

* * *

 

“Oh so Gilbert texted you… I see. I hope everything goes well for them!” Feliciano responded enthusiastically.

“It will. Those two adore each other.” Francis replied with a smirk.

“They’re also good friends and I believe if Kiku does not want anything more, my bruder would respect that.”

The Frenchman and Italian frowned.

“I personally don’t think they’re ready for that. It isn’t even legal here.” Arthur said nonchalantly.

“My bruder moved into your country… from what I recall… so—”

“What?! When did he start living in England?!” Arthur’s jaw almost dropped. "Kiku didn't even tell me this and the wanker goes to see him every other month!"

Francis’s eyes widened. “Mon dieu! He lied to me too! He said he wouldn’t move to England. I told him France was a much better country!”

“Excuse you? I believe you’re out of hand there. England is a far better choice for living. I’m glad Gilbert wasn’t stupid.”

Arthur chose to ignore the fact Francis kept that little piece of information from him as well.

The Frenchman obnoxiously laughed in return.

“What the bloody hell are you cackling for?!”

“You seemed horrified a second ago!”

Feliciano sighed and noticed his German companion was making his way to another aisle.

“Eh?! Luddy! Wait for me!” The Italian ran after Ludwig.

“Great. Now Ludwig and Feliciano left us because of you, you frog.” Arthur scolded after looking around at the empty aisle.

“Because of moi?! Non, non.” Francis gestured arrogantly.

A brief silence and the Frenchman looked over at the prideful Englishman. He leaned in closer and gave him a quick kiss on his lips.

Arthur put his hand over his mouth and said, “What the hell was that for?!”

“I do not like to stay bickering for long. I believe I had something else to say to you as well.”

Arthur felt his heart jump. “Francis… we’re not doing this here, in a damn pet store!”

“What?” The Frenchman asked innocently.

“Talking about US and the whole marriage thing.”

Francis continued fluttering his eyelashes.

“Damn it Francis!”

A flustered Arthur was one of his favorite things.

* * *

 

“So about last night… I—” The albino found himself tapping his foot nervously.

A finger against his lips silenced him. Kiku began to speak instead.

“Gomen, may I speak first?”

Gilbert simply nodded as Kiku took his finger off the other’s lips.

“I firstly must apologize for the misunderstandings. It must have been an inconvenience. I did not think that Arthur-san would have told Francis-san and the worst part was that everyone found out. I know you did not propose to me and I am not even certain that it was your idea to. Then Arthur-san began saying you backed out of your original intention and Francis-san began lecturing me. I simply thought you maybe wanted to bring up the topic but not ask me directly. I jumped to conclusions when they began telling me their opinions and I am truly ashamed for this.” The Japanese said as he lowered his head in shame.

“Oi! Kiku, calm down! Raise your head. Don’t do that stuff!” Gilbert immediately lifted Kiku’s face to meet his gaze.

“Technically they were right…” The albino scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I did… chicken out. I was afraid of what your reaction would be since we’re both pretty comfortable with where we’re at or at least I think so?” He looked at the smaller male’s face for answers.

“Hai… I am comfortable.”

“Then I realized that getting married, you know, with it being an option—well I wouldn’t mind it… with you.” The albino somehow mustered up his strength to say that with flushed cheeks being very obvious on his pale skin.

Kiku raised both eyebrows and found his face matching Gilbert’s.

“Nani? I mean what?” Kiku corrected himself.

Gilbert nervously chuckled and took a leap of faith reaching out for Kiku’s hand and squeezing it.

“I’m asking if you’d like to get married.”

“But—”

This time he put his finger against Kiku’s lips, silencing him in return as the Japanese blinked a few times.

“Don’t give me excuses. We can figure everything else out later. Just tell me if you’d like to or not. I can respect whatever choice you make, but please answer me.” The albino’s eyes pleaded and Kiku almost felt his heart burst open, but swallowed his own saliva and nodded shyly.

“Hm? What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”

Kiku pouted and wasn’t sure if Gilbert was messing with him or if he was being honest.

“Hai…” a barely audible whisper.

“Hm? Speak up, ja?” Gilbert said mockingly.

Okay, he was definitely messing with him.

Kiku leaned over and whispered a _yes_ , while briefly kissing the albino’s hot cheek. He wasn't sure how he did that, but he did!

“I am going to go make tea, would you like some?” Kiku asked timidly.

As he got up, he was pulled back down into the couch and onto the albino’s lap.

Gilbert grinned at him with rosy cheeks.

“Kiku, you made me really happy, happier than I’ve ever been. Stay here with me a little longer.” He kissed the Japanese's hair and leaned his chin onto the short raven haired locks.

“Hai… I’m happy as well…” Kiku said hiding his embarrassment and refusing to look back at his partner.

Both were turned into shy messes and Kiku couldn’t even complain about being on his lap until a good minute passed and he decided to turn his body around to face Gilbert. He found himself straddling his lover and the albino hadn’t minded one bit.

“Arigatou Gilbert-kun…”

“Why me? I should be thanking you.” Gilbert chuckled as he nuzzled Kiku.

And before anything else was said they leaned into one another and connected their lips with a kiss. It was slow but passionate. The feel of their lips against each other, that all familiar taste, and the all familiar smells and pleasant noises they made. It’d never get old, but their kisses always felt like home. Because Gilbert always missed Kiku and Japan, while Kiku would miss Gilbert and Germany, but now that he was living in England, it took him a while to adjust to the country itself. Gilbert knew it wouldn’t be easy. Gilbert knew he’d eventually talk to Kiku about moving to England for a while, or if he’d want Gilbert to move in with him. Whether it was Japan or England, he’d wait.

* * *

 

“So fiancé hm? Have you bought rings yet?” Francis said as he waggled his eyebrows.

Gilbert blinked. “Oh … well I wasn’t sure so—”

“You’re terrible at this Gilbert Beilschmidt. You should go shop for some right now! While I go off and look for Kiku~” Elizabeta said with a sunny smile.

“Huh? Kiku’s around here? And have you guys even shopped for your stuff yet?”

"We've had our weddings planned for a while mon cher." The Frenchman replied smugly.

“While this is all lovely, why did I have to come along?” Roderich replied with a frown. He could feel himself getting exhausted from the walking.

“Oh dear. If you’d like you may sit with my bags over at that bench and I’ll call you when we’re done so you can get the car.” Elizabeta responded with a shooing gesture.

Roderich wasn’t sure which one sounded better. Walking around aimlessly or sitting in boredom. He figured boredom it was.

* * *

 

“So Kiku! Have you gotten rings yet!?” Feliciano asked curiously.

“Ah, hai… I wanted to give Gilbert-kun his tonight. I just do not know how I’d go about it.”

“Do you plan to stay engaged until you both have decided on moving in together? What about where you’re going to get married? And are you sure that—MMF!”

“Feliciano, be quiet. You’re overwhelming Kiku.” Ludwig said as he covered his partner’s mouth his hand.

“It’s quite alright Ludwig-san… I want to talk to him tonight about all of this.”

“Great! We can throw a party for you both after!” The Italian said as he slipped off the German’s grasp.

“I agree. A party would be nice to celebrate. My bruder is probably planning it as well.”

“I do not need a party, but thank you very much for your kindness.” Kiku quickly dismissed it.

“I disagree and insist! You will have a party! I’m sure everyone would love to join! Not just us, but more of our friends too!” Elizabeta said mischievously coming from behind and putting her hands over Kiku’s shoulders. “I found you! Hehe~”

“AH!” Kiku yelped and found himself jumping away from the sudden contact.

“Oh, sorry about that…. I forgot you get jumpy. That’s sort of not fair you know… Gilbert _can_ touch you however and you don’t jump—” Elizabeta noticed Kiku’s stern stare as she stopped halfway.

“I am usually aware of when he is going to do something! You startled me so it wasn’t fair. That isn’t something anyone would take kindly to! I believe anyone would be uncomfortable with that, Elizabeta-san”

And at that moment the Hungarian female felt like she was getting scolded by her elder. She quickly apologized to her friend.

“I was only teasing! Sorry Kiku! So these rings… care to show me your engravings?” She giggled.

* * *

 

The evening came to be and both males finally made it home at different times from their shopping day of course. Kiku started getting his bath ready. As he set his towel down he felt a pair of arms holding him from behind.

“Ah!” Kiku turned around and found Gilbert blinking back at him in similar shock.

“Jumpy? Or you don’t want me doing this? I can stop.”

“No, no. It is fine. Gomen… I have been a little jumpy. Elizabeta-san asks so many questions.”

Gilbert found himself growling. “Francy pants was the same. Tired of them being overly excited. You’d think they would focus on their own weddings.”

“Arthur-san accepted?” 

“Ja. He did it yesterday actually. Francis has been blogging about it ever since with endless pictures. I think Arthur broke his phone.”

“I am glad for them both.” Kiku said with a soft smile while ignoring the last part about the broken phone.

“Um, Gilbert-kun…” The Japanese male started fidgeting a little.

“What is it?” Gilbert asked as he let go of his partner.

“I got these for us earlier today…” Kiku said taking out a pair of simple silver rings with small engravings on the inside.

Gilbert’s eyes widened because he knew at that moment what they were and truthfully he was glad Kiku got them instead because he wasn't able to even get rings peacefully. It also hadn’t helped that they hadn’t discussed the rings in the first place. His lesson of the day was to never shop with Francis when it came to wedding related things. The man was too particular about everything.

Kiku gave a ring to his partner and smiled at him. “I hope you are okay with—mmf!”

An impulsive kiss on his lips and chuckle when he was done savoring Kiku’s mouth. The Japanese male found himself speechless with widened eyes.

“Danke… they’re really nice. They’re so much better than the stuff I was looking at with Francis. You’re the best. Simple and nice! The way I like it.”

Kiku could only nod a bit embarrassed but feeling pleased at the response. Before putting the ring on, Gilbert noticed the engraving it had which read, _“Sternenhimmel!”_ exclamation mark and all.

The albino began cackling on the spot upon reading it and he grinned over at his partner after a good while.

“What is it Gilbert-kun?” The Japanese male tilted his head in inquiry.

“Sternenhimmel?”

“Well, yes. That word reminds me of you and when I look at the stars in the night sky, it reminds me of you too. We always look at them together. It was one of the first words you taught me.”

Gilbert happily put his ring on and couldn’t stop his constant grinning, though funny enough Kiku found himself having a permanent smile as well.

“This was better than that cheesy stuff Francis put on his rings to Arthur, kesesese! So… how’s about pronouncing the word for me as a refresher?” Gilbert put his hand behind his ear and leaned in closer. “Say it loud and clear for me!”

The Japanese grimaced. He should have honestly thought of another word, but that word actually held a lot more meaning to him than a lot of other words. It was one of the words that connected him to Gilbert and it was the start of their close friendship. Kiku found himself wanting to walk away but Gilbert picked him up and spun him around before he could.

“Come on Kiku!”

“Gilbert-kun! Put me down!” The smaller male squirmed.

“Not until you pronounce it again! I like it when you speak German.”

“You are patronizing me and I do not appreciate that!”

“I’m not. I really do like it when you speak German.”

Kiku pouted as Gilbert put him down. He couldn’t stop grinning. He would surely cherish the ring forever, whether he had to wait another year or another ten years. It was just nice knowing that they were getting married one way or another. One step at a time they assumed, but Kiku was sure that Elizabeta and Francis would be in their business for the time being and that Gilbert would keep pestering him to practice his German again. Not that he hadn’t been practicing it anyway, he just preferred to do it alone thank you very much. All in all, their relationship felt like it was just beginning.

“Alright since you won't do it then we can just bathe together since you can't say our cherished word. Think of it as practice for our nights together, kesesese!”

“EH?!” Kiku almost felt his spirit leaving him at the realization.

“Ja, so go on and strip.” Gilbert demanded as he started unbuckling his pants and taking off his shirt.

“Shute-runen-himmel! Shuterunenhimmel! Shuterunenhimmel! Gilbert-kun! Are you listening?!” Kiku asked frantically closing his eyes.

Gilbert wondered why Kiku always got flustered when he would strip naked, but when they made love it was all so natural for both of them. Though truthfully it was extremely awkward for them both at first. It was still cute regardless and the albino figured he’d not traumatize his fiancé for the time being. He’d somehow get Kiku used to them using the same bath some day. They’d survive the married life, especially if their friends were able to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I apologize but no, I did not write them getting married since this is a domestic/modern AU and well, we all know marriage isn't legal in Japan, but heyyy England has it :D!! Anywho, I just wanted to write them getting engaged lol. I had written this a while back so me finishing this was a miracle. I just wanted it done. I'm off to get my writing groove back!


	27. Day 27 - On one of their birthdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think my writer's block is gone for now??? I was able to type this one right away and it came to me naturally lol. So yay. Anyway, incoming cheesiness. I was debating on changing the theme to this day but decided to go through with it because I have never written birthday fics for prupan. I'm usually lazy to write anything like that on a character's official day. Anyway, onto the story!
> 
> Oh right so Alles Gute zum Geburtstag translates into Happy birthday apparently, but correct me if I'm wrong please and thank you.

Birthdays, birthdays were usually seen as celebratory occasions of one’s birth. They’re celebrated in numerous cultures, often with a gift, party, or even as a rite of passage depending on where one was from. Celebrating those weren’t exactly Japan’s sort of thing. He didn’t necessarily see a reason to celebrate his own day or at least make a big deal out of it. He was a very old fashioned nation, along with just plain old in years that had been around longer than a lot of his fellow nations nowadays, but his friends always had other plans despite his protests. They’d always do small gatherings or parties whether he wanted it or not. He knew they all had good intentions but sometimes he just wanted to do nothing and relax. He worked a lot of the times on his birthday so it didn’t make it easy to avoid human contact.

Taiwan usually liked to invite everybody and anybody, she sometimes reminded him of America when she acted impulsively. If she wasn’t in charge then China would take over and call him until he decided to pick up and let him come over. He’d even sing him something in Chinese half the time, not that Japan hadn’t appreciated it, but when China acted as a doting older brother—he’d prefer him not to. America would never give any form of warning. Most of the times he’d simply throw a party at his place and kidnap (yes kidnap) Japan to go over and celebrate. Seriously though, he could hardly keep up with the young nations when it came to actively partying. At least China just pampered him and brought him gifts (that he already owned).

Japan had to admit he missed the times of his isolation. In those days, Netherlands would simply sit with him as they spoke of their usual banter and the Dutchman would give him a tulip and tell him it was important to at least celebrate his birth regardless of being immortal. Parties weren’t necessary, but being aware of his day and celebrating in any way he could was always nice. It was one of many ways to _feel_ human. He’d even bring his pet rabbit sometimes and their animals would play. On each birthday it’d be the same while Japan would return the favor to his friend from the Netherlands every time it was his day, except Netherlands would tell him to not cook so damn much.

It wasn’t until his alliances expanded and then America was the one reminding Japan of his birthday more often. He’d drag England and France along with his brother Canada sometimes as the years passed, not that they minded. Then China would pop up and bring Russia around a lot more and it’d be a bit awkward. It wasn’t that Japan hated Russia, but he’d always be wary around the nation. China always told Japan it took him a while to get used to the Russian. Taiwan then brought Vietnam along with Hong Kong, but in reality, all the Japanese nation wanted each year on his day was blissful peace. The peace and quiet were trademark for him… it’s what he thought until he met a certain German nation by the name of Prussia and eventually met his next best friends whom were Germany and Italy. If it weren’t for them he figured birthdays really wouldn’t matter, but they somehow made them matter.

When Prussia first found out when Japan’s birthday was he wouldn’t stop pestering the Japanese nation about it.

* * *

 

_Prussia began tapping his finger against the table while poking Pochi’s nose with his other. He would glance over at Japan from time to time but figured he was on a study binge. And right after he advised him to relax! He figured the Japanese nation would tire himself out eventually._

_“Oi, Japan…” Prussia called over._

_“Yes Prussia-kun?”Japan took his eyes off the book he was reading and turned his attention to his bored looking ally._

_“You know you don’t have to keep studying each and every single day right? I mean… you already got a hang of the basics, take a break? You can continue after you rest up.” Prussia said with a small frown._

_“A break? I suppose… would you like some snacks meanwhile? I might go water my plants afterwards. Now that I am looking over at the clock I realize it’s a good time.”_

_Prussia’s eyes gleamed and he grinned. “Ja! Sounds good. I love the cakes you give me.”The German nation perked up._

_“Prussia-kun… you should eat something else aside from cakes… I’ll make us a small meal as well to go with the snacks.” Japan said with a faint smile._

_“Whatever you make will be delicious anyway, Japan.”_

_The Japanese made his way to kitchen with a permanent smile while Prussia looked back at Pochi and heard a sudden ring coming from the next room. He peeked out of doorway and noticed the phone continued ringing with no answer. He decided to answer the phone mean while his friend was occupied. It was a kind favor after all!_

_He picked up and said, “Hallo!”_

_“Yo! Oh, wait… you don’t sound like Japan. Who is this?”_

_“It is I, the awesome Prussia, and may I ask who this is?”_

_“Oh, hey Prussia. It’s America!”_

_“Oh hey. You need to talk to Japan? He’s kind of busy right now though.”_

_“Yeah I need to talk to him! It’s his birthday today and I know he’s avoiding me because he doesn’t want to celebrate! Think you can get his butt out of the house and get him to come over?”_

_Prussia scrunched up his eyebrows pondering. “Why doesn’t he like to celebrate?”_

_“Beats me, but I like to celebrate! I like to thank him for being my friend every time!”_

_“What do you usually do for him anyway? I mean… you must scare the crap out of him if he doesn’t even want to walk out.”_

_An offended gasp was heard over the line. “That’s mean! I don’t scare him! He’s just really shy! Besides I like to invite everyone over and—”_

_“That.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“That right there. Japan doesn’t like to be surrounded by a bunch of people all the time. He’s a pretty solitary guy from what I’ve noticed. He likes peace and quiet.”_

_America just mused attempting to understand, but all he saw was that his friend did not want to celebrate and what better way to do it than to party with everyone? Spreading the joy was the way to go for him!_

_“Listen, I’ll help you out on how to surprise Japan since the guy’s been studying nonstop, but only if you promise not to invite like the whole country at your place.”_

_“What?! But it’s a party, a celebration—”_

_“Okay then well, good luck trying to get him out of his house.”_

_America scratched at his head and thought about it for a moment. It wasn’t like he could go over either. He had things planned out at his place. Maybe if he lured him in with a game—wait, Japan was the game master that wouldn’t work. Maybe something cute and adorable—but Japan was the land of all things cute and adorable. What if he made delicious food—but it was all supersized. Well then, things weren’t working out for him in his mind. Damn._

_“Alright, fine… I guess.”_

_“Awesome!”_

* * *

 

Japan woke up to the smell of tea and strawberry pancakes, rolling over on the bed with a pleasant sigh. The mattress dipped near his feet after a moment, and then he felt someone warm and soft, someone familiar climbing on the bed, straddling his hips and leaning down to press gentle kisses on the curve of his neck.

Oh, right. He was at Prussia’s house for the week, and Prussia actually made him breakfast? He wasn’t sure if he should have felt lucky or been worried. His cooking wasn’t like England’s, but it needed a bit of work. Although his pancakes were pretty good now that he remembered taking a taste one time from Italy literally shoving it into his mouth. He supposed he’d have to thank Canada!

"Guten Morgen," Prussia sing-sang in a low voice, running his hands through Japan’s dark strands of hair, "and Alles Gute zum Geburtstag."

"Ah…Ohayō Prussia-kun…," Japan murmured, faintly smiling as he finally blinked his eyes open. Prussia stared down at him warmly. "I believe I dreamt about the first time you found out about my birthday," he slowly reached out for Prussia's hand until the other met him halfway and tangled their fingers together.

Prussia raised both eyebrows. "Really?" he replied and bent down to kiss Japan's neck again, sucking on the spot that always made him squirm and shift his hips. Prussia's free hand trailed lower, his thumb stroking over the grey of pale skin between Japan's pants and tank top.

"Hai… I still remember you advised America-san—to not invite so many people over on the day of my birthday and we played video games at his house—instead with Taiwan-san—and France-san," Japan responded, his voice already a little breathy, something warm pooling in his stomach.

“Ha! How did you find out I talked to America?” Prussia spoke against his lover’s skin.

“He told me you told him as advice because you said I don’t do well around large groups, that I would feel comfortable with few people. I—ah! Never—got to thank you properly—Prussia-kun!”

Prussia grinned as he pulled back away from his lover’s tempting neck. “Sorry, I just feel like giving you extra attention today, but you don’t have to thank me. I think I scolded you enough that day, haha! Besides, I get more than enough from your cute reactions.”

Japan wondered if Prussia planned out his smooth talk or if they were just random moments of his because despite seeing his lover’s rosy cheeks, Japan felt like his own cheeks were on fire.

"Besides… it’s your birthday today so let me pamper you for once!”

Prussia smiled against Japan’s porcelain skin as he leaned in; his lips slid over every inch of Japan's neck and found all the right spots. The Japanese gave a small moan in response and god damn he’d never get used to making those noises during intimate moments.

"Arigatou for the pancakes and tea—I can smell them—" Japan replied as Prussia shifted his own hips until the Japanese felt the unmistakable bulge against his own quickly hardening cock, "—and…"

“And?” Prussia nudged.

“And this…what we’re doing…” Japan said timidly as he breathed out shakily, burying his hand in Prussia’s silver like hair.

Prussia chuckled against the space between Japan’s shoulder and neck, untangling their hands so he could slip both of his own hands underneath Japan’s shirt, pushing it up towards his chest. Japan moved his own hand to Prussia's waist, holding on to it when Prussia rolled his hips down. Everything felt warm and happy and comfortable around Japan—the sheets that still smelled of sleep and _home_ , the morning sunlight filtering into the room through the curtains, and especially the familiar weight of Prussia's body against his. Prussia's hands stroked Japan’s skin and the albino's lips pressed heated and open-mouthed kisses on his neck again, slowly trailing lower and lower as their hips rocked together in a tranquil rhythm.

For them, making love was usually slow and steady, but that didn’t mean hard and fast wouldn’t ever happen. They’d find their own rhythm depending on their moods, but it always took a while for Japan to adjust. Love making was a private thing, something they didn’t often indulge in especially because of their duties as nations and not to mention they weren’t exactly public. They liked to keep it between themselves, but the one thing that made this day special in specific was that Japan got to wake up to Prussia’s face. He actually had the day off. If he had to decide out of all the birthdays, this one was definitely the best way to wake up that Japan had ever experienced.

"Pancakes—later?" Japan found himself gasping out, straining to move closer to Prussia, and Prussia laughed again, the sound low and rumbling, his hand sliding underneath the waistband of his lover's pants.

"That was the idea, I just didn’t think you’d be up for it so soon, but I got lucky!" Prussia replied with a grin, his lips already sucking kisses on Japan's clavicle. "Happy birthday, liebe."

Japan breathed out, closing his eyes and letting Prussia take him apart and put him back together again. That would have been the case if Italy hadn’t barged into the room and—

“Happy birthday Japan! Germany told me you’d be in Prussia’s room and I smelled yummy pancakes and—” He froze and stared at Prussia straddling Japan, practically eating the other slow and steady.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll leave right now!”

“Italy-chan?!” Prussia turned around with widened eyes.

Japan quickly threw Prussia off of him and wrapped himself around the nearest blanket feeling ashamed.

“Prussia can keep undressing you and I’ll leave I promise! I did something similar for Germany on his birthday! After you’re done we can all go out or something!”

“I-T-A-L-Y! Get out of my bruder’s room!” Germany yelled furiously running over.

Italy heard the other’s steps getting closer and panicked.

“Ve! But wait Germany! It’s okay! They aren’t naked! I’m leaving!”

“Oh mein gott…” Prussia put his hand over his face. “West… it’s okay! Italy-chan didn’t walk in on anything indecent… _yet_. Kesesese!” He said with a faint smirk.

A pillow was thrown at his face by an embarrassed Japan. That whole them not being a pair in public thing, that technically was true, but Italy was just too good at figuring things out like this. Japan truly applauded him and eventually got used to the idea of Italy and Germany finding out, though it took a little longer for it to process in Germany’s head. Japan would still say it was definitely his best birthday ever because despite getting interrupted, he was still able to spend it with the two other people that meant the world to him as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah I'm almost done with this challenge! BRING IT.


	28. Day 28 - Doing something ridiculous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so while I thought of a bunch of different scenarios for this, for some reason this topic would not leave my mind especially because I've been re-watching Gintama lately and I came across... a specific episode. It'll make sense right now once you read. I didn't necessarily think this was ridiculous, but I guess a little bit of it was :).
> 
> Before I start here's a translation beforehand.
> 
> Onegaishimasu = Please
> 
> (correct me if I’m wrong)

It was the ungodly hours of the early morning, when the axis powers were woken up from their slumber suddenly and violently by a loud, tearing scream that could have possibly cracked all the windows.

"AHHH! A ROACH! ONEGAISHIMASU! GERMANY-SAN! KILL IT! KILL IT! DESTROY ITS EXISTENCE!"

“Uhm… I’m trying to Japan, but I doubt I would be able to destroy its mere existence. There would be more of its kind out there and they are quite intelligent—”

“A smart roach! Aw… but it looks so scared—”

“Italy-kun…” Japan expressed very low tolerance at that moment. “They do not deserve mercy… they have infested this room and I am wondering why because I know Germany-san and Prussia-kun like to clean. Correct?”

He turned and a menacing aura was surrounding the Japanese which Prussia, while still half asleep, took precaution in.

“Ja…”  

Japan was not amused by any of this at all. A roach should not have been in his friends’ home. It didn’t make sense. Roaches were attracted to filth. The place was not filthy from what he knew.

Romano was in a foul mood as he stormed towards the room full of screams, particularly Japan’s screams which was odd because Japan never screamed. "What the fuck are you shitty assholes going on about—" A knife sunk into the door frame mere inches from his face. "WHAT THE FUCK?! YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, JAPAN?!"

“Big brother! Amazing! You dodged the knife!” Italy clapped.

“Stupid little brother, I didn’t dodge shit, Japan threw that and it luckily didn't stab my face!” Romano shouted aggressively pointing at the object on the wall beside him.

Japan looked at Romano blankly. "Gomen Romano-kun, but I am merely attempting at exterminating this roach."

Romano turned his head slowly, his heart still racing from almost being cut on the face by a damn knife and being mistaken for a roach. Besides, where the fuck did Japan get the knife from? Surely enough there was a cockroach idly passing by after the coast was clear and Japan almost had it, _damn_ he had good aim, but not good enough, Japan would have argued.

  
Instead, he turned his attention to the rest of the room this time.

“So… you’re afraid of roaches?” Romano inquired hesitantly because the guy just threw a knife out of nowhere and he didn't want to find out what else Japan was capable of.

“Hai.” Japan had no shame nor was he embarrassed. This was a crisis.

“Japan… you get a bit too aggressive when it comes to roaches… I think you scared Romano a bit.” Prussia scratched at his head. “West and I can’t find it anymore.  So let’s just stop for—”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH” Japan immediately jumped on Prussia and while Japan was usually light, Prussia was still not fully functioning and a big thump sound was heard when they both fell to the floor. Japan huddled around him in terror.

Italy frowned and was confused as to why Japan started screaming again.

As if on cue, he gestured frantically towards the windowsill, upon which Prussia could see two more cockroaches. Germany’s arm whipped out a cook book (probably Italy’s) and smashed them flat with the heavy book.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" Prussia asked hesitantly with Japan still clinging on.

Prussia had to admit he kind of liked the extra attention because it was rare for Japan to ever come to him and hold onto him the way he was doing, though he felt a little guilt for making the best out of this experience when Japan was so terrified. All Prussia saw next was a white blur as Japan bolted straight for the closet and locked himself in.

Romano felt a shudder go up his spine. He could already imagine the vile bugs, crawling all over the kitchen food, skittering over him when he slept while staying over at stupid potato bastard’s home, living in the walls, living between the floors, everywhere! The thought alone was enough to make him itch. Germany felt his tolerance dropping.

"Italy, Bruder…" Germany said in his ever so serious tone. He didn’t tolerate the sudden infestation. He was a clean country! Where were they coming from?!

"What is it West?"

"Kill them all. Every single one you find."

Italy walked over to the window from where the roaches were coming from while the others started searching elsewhere but before they walked out of the room...

“Oh! This is why they were coming in through the window! Prussia, you should keep your window closed for now. Someone’s been throwing trash outside!”

“What? I don’t throw things out the window. Who the heck would be throwing stuff out my window?!” That surely woke the albino up.

Japan immediately opened the closet door and rushed over to the window. It was true. It ranged from wrappers to—wait was the burnt cooking in a bag? Why was there trash out there in a bunch of bags?!

“Hey! That looks like the stuff big brother was using to make food the other day… He said he’d make sushi and some other stuff. He wanted to try something different from our usual Italian dishes but why is it over there? Silly big brother. The trash is in the kitchen!”

“ _Shit._ Veneziano shut the hell up! I'm not a dumbass. I know where shit is at. I’m a good cook but that crap just didn’t come out right!”

"So you figure to not let anyone notice your mistakes you'd drop them outside the windowsill?" Germany said in disbelief.

Japan cringed because why was the rice so overcooked and it didn’t even look like the right kind of rice. Almost all sushi wasn’t even supposed to be cooked. He could have sworn Romano knew better.

Upon hearing this Prussia immediately chased after him threatening him to go pick that crap up or _else_.

“MY ADORABLE STUDENT IS TRAUMATIZED BY ROACHES BECAUSE OF YOU!” the albino shouted, yes because the whole house needed to know that apparently.

Japan pursed his lips in disapproval.

* * *

 

So that whole cockroach incident was finally put behind them and Japan hadn’t gone over to Germany’s for a while. Prussia had been pouting about it for a good week. He had even promised Japan their rooms along with the whole house in general was spotless and Romano had gone back to Spain. He was only at Germany's temporarily due to him pulling a tantrum and running away, but that whole roach incident and missing his parental figure sort of made him go back to Spain.

Germany sighed looking at his older brother not even concentrating on his book any longer.

“ _Bruder_ , just go see Japan.”

“But West… I always go over to see him when I’m bored. I don’t want to make it seem like I have nothing to do. He’s gotta come over here eventually!” Prussia spoke proudly as he puffed out his chest.

So his brother was playing hard to get now? What the heck was going on? He hadn’t ever understood Japan and Prussia’s relationship, especially because sometimes they seemed like an old married couple and other times they barely even saw each other, but when that happened Prussia would sometimes look at things that reminded him of the Japanese nation and he'd muse on the good times. Germany especially remembered a time Prussia stuffed his face with more than 50 of those cakes he liked so much from Japan. _Weird_ relationship indeed.

* * *

 

“So you’re not going back to the potato wankers’ place?” England said while taking a bite out of his cracker.

Japan looked at his cup of tea, simply staring his own reflection. He felt bad for the most part. He wanted to go over like he usually did and discuss things with them, but after the roach incident he remembered Germany telling him they never had roaches before and it was just Romano’s terrible habits that brought them, which was believable but…

Roaches just freaked him out so much that he definitely cried when he ran into that closet, not the gross crying though, just silent sobbing and whimpering. He was too paranoid and the urge to shower and wash his hands over and over again came to him when he was finally alone that day. He immediately excused himself and headed home after everything. He knew Prussia and Germany felt terrible about the whole ordeal, but really, it wasn’t their fault.

Roaches were creepy and gross to him, not to mention they had the tendency to multiply. They even flew and came in different sizes. No thank you.

“I feel ashamed for not paying them a single visit within the past week and half…” Japan said while looking down at the floor.

“Japan, it’s understandable. We all have fears. You can’t be invincible.” England said calmly.

Japan faintly smiled while looking up at his friend. “That’s true…”

“I mean unless you’re like me then you’re an impenetrable wall.” The Englishman said proudly as Japan frowned.

“Of course…”

England cleared his throat quite loudly after hearing the hint of sarcasm in Japan’s voice. “So you’re not going to see him? I mean Prussia.”

“I am going to meet with him after I see America-san later today unless he decides to come earlier.”

“So they’re coming over? America and Prussia?” England replied slowly.

Japan blinked a bit and nodded.

“How do you deal with them both? They’re exhausting…”

Japan merely gave another nod. “They can be, but they have good intentions.”

England just shook his head.

* * *

 

“Look, I’ve just been telling him that he can come over to our place without any more problems like that, but he’s too terrified. I don’t know what to tell him.” Prussia frowned.

He had met up with the American nation on his way over.

“So Japan’s scared of roaches?” America asked in surprise along with a quick grimace and some fidgeting.

A grimace? _Why_?

“Ja. I don’t blame him or anything, but I wish he’d come over! It’s been boooring.” Prussia repeated childishly. “Meetings are boring too. He used to come over and cook with us if he wasn’t too tired.”

America nodded in agreement as they reached Japan’s door and knocked in an almost rushed manner. What was up with him? America kept having a strangely strained expression. It took a minute for the Japanese to go ahead open up.

“Yo Japan!” The American greeted as cheerfully as he could.

“Hallo Japan.” Prussia said with a pout.

Ah, he had been pouting ever since, Japan had noticed.

“Hello American-san, Prussia-kun.” Japan lightly bowed.

“Hey I gotta use your bathroom real quick, sorry about this! I remember where it was at so you don’t have to show me!”

And America rushed through the door on his quest to the toilet.

Japan slowly blinked wondering what America had drank or eaten for him to be in such a rush of desperation.

“Oh… so that’s why he kept making funny faces and not really talking to me. Kesesese!” Prussia chuckled obnoxiously.

The Japanese gave a small smile in return.

“Listen Japan… I’m sorry about bothering you lately. I just feel bad about the roach incident and—”

“It’s okay Prussia-kun.” Japan interrupted. “Gomen… for interrupting, but it is alright. I decided that a week and a half of avoidance isn’t going to solve anything. I can come over whenever I am free.”

Prussia’s eyes perked up and lifted Japan from the floor spinning him around cheerfully. Japan would have told him (as usual) to put him down, but there was something even worse that caught his eye. Prussia stopped the spinning while keeping Japan lifted up. He nuzzled his nose about to lean in for a kiss when he said, “So after America leaves, how’s about you and I—”

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!” Japan shouted frantically. “PRUSSIA-KUN, KILL IT! ONEGAI! ONEGAISHIMASU!” He yelled pointing at the well known bug.

 _Uh oh._ Prussia recognized that reaction perfectly, but wait, it was the perfect situation! If he could kill the roach then Japan wouldn’t want to be in his home much right? So what if it was outside his doorstep? He’d run over to Prussia’s. It was his time to shine, he’d surely kill it! That poor roach, but oh well! The awesome him would surely be a hero.

Japan started squirming in his arms and Prussia could have sworn the Japanese couldn’t climb any higher than he had climbed. He tried squashing it a few times, but Japan was moving his hands way too much and even covered Prussia’s eyes at some point while the medium sized roach danced around them. It was probably taunting them both.

“That’s it! Japan, stop covering my eyes. I can’t kill it with you holding me like that. I appreciate the attention and—”

_Squish, squash._

Prussia stopped his sentence right then and there.

“What the heck’s going on?” America asked in obvious confusion unaware that he stepped on Prussia's ticket to praise—the roach.

So much for Prussia trying to be Japan’s hero. America was already the hero. How could he think of taking that title? So what? He was still awesome. No way in hell was America more awesome than him. Prussia felt a cold chill of disappointment pass him by. So much for having Japan cling to him too because right after Japan jumped off Prussia and started bowing to America.

“Arigatou gozaimasu, America-san! I must thank you properly! You have exterminated the filth! It truly feels like they are everywhere lately…”

“Huh? Oh… sweet! Makes sense then. I’m the hero after all! Haha!” America said sheepishly grinning while getting praised by Japan.

“Pffft. Whatever. I could have killed the roach too you know but Japan kept climbing all over me so I couldn’t.” The albino said with a hint of hurt.

“Prussia-kun, I truly apologize…” Japan turned to face Prussia with sad eyes.

“Nein! Don’t apologize! I wasn’t blaming you.” He said apologetically. “I was just saying that I could have killed it too…” His cheeks were tinted pink with embarrassment.

“Well, what are we doing out here? Let’s go inside.” America gestured to the open door.

Japan gave a small smile in response. “Hai.”

They made it inside and Japan immediately brought out snacks as they situated themselves and got comfortable in one of the empty rooms.

“You know Japan, if you’re still scared you can always come over to West’s house—”

“Yo! You should come over to my—OW!” America felt like his lung would have collapsed if he weren’t already well built.

A quick jab to America’s stomach from Prussia. Prussia didn’t look it but he was strong, fitting for his nation one might say.

“What the heck was that?!”

Japan gave a confused expression wondering why the two nations were speaking amongst themselves when he was right there.

“He’s my friend too you know.” America said with a quick frown.

“Ja, I understand but I asked first.”

Voices were heard outside shortly after he tuned out America and Prussia, which Japan instantly recognized.

_“Ve! There’s a dead roach outside Japan’s house! Germany! We have to save Japan!”_

“ _Indeed. We should bring him back with us until his house is thoroughly quarantined.”_

Why was everyone suddenly offering their home to Japan? A roach was outside his home _not_ inside and it was dead, thankfully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love the idea of the axis powers all hanging out and to me axis powers include Romano and Prussia. I wish the series would include them more with Italy, Germany, AND Japan. :( It'd make my day.
> 
> And no I do not find someone being terrified/scared of roaches funny (though anime makes everything seem a lot lighter huh?), but the idea of Japan's allies trying to help him and Prussia trying to be a hero but failing made it a bit ridiculous to me hehe. *SWEATS* At least I tried. 
> 
> So I like ameripan friendship (and SHIP *COUGH*COUGH*).


	29. Day 29 - Doing something sweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So brief thing here... a lot of this was going to be used for another story, but I gave up. Hence why maybe a lot of this will seem like it's leading to something else... but just to give a brief summary...
> 
> Gilbert and Kiku have become close friends in University after Gilbert moved to Japan a year ago. A lot of information is vague here since it's a oneshot and what not. I apologize. Gilbert's living with Ludwig and Feliciano. I like to think of them as a small little family of three. While Kiku works night shift as a male nurse and Mei is his coworker. That's all I can say because like I said... this was going to be part of another story but I just figured I'd use it for this since the theme for this day is soooo broad... 
> 
> Yes I like those relationships where the two of them act like a fucking couple and everyone around them knows there's so much more going on but the otp is like being oblivious and is enjoying each other's company as they go until one of them cracks.
> 
> kbye

Gilbert rolled over. His head collided with something solid, waking him up.

"Ow," said Kiku, and flexed his knee.

"Sorry, sorry," replied Gilbert, wearily.

He must have dozed off, ops.

Kiku had wanted to check up on one of the stray cats around the area and Gilbert was pretty sure his friend had fed all of them by now. They had wound up sitting by a riverbank, Gilbert with a book and Kiku with a book of his own. It was a nice change, just relaxing outside instead of being indoors and in the Japanese’s room writing papers or playing video games. It didn’t matter how old they got, Gilbert still saw them doing the same thing even if they both weren’t going to school anymore. The thought made the albino smile.

Gilbert stretched, resting his head against Kiku’s leg, something they had somehow become accustomed to, especially Kiku. He was very guarded when it came to personal space, but with time and in getting to know one another it turned into a natural thing. It felt way _too_ natural if anybody were to ask Gilbert. 

"It’s quite alright," Kiku responded softly.

Gilbert felt him shift his weight as he lightly ruffled Gilbert’s hair, almost petting it instead because for some reason, the albino really loved the hair ruffling thing. Kiku would sometimes hear content purrs coming out of his friend.

"Feels nice." Gilbert responded contently.

It definitely felt soothing especially when he proceeded to closing his eyes and letting Kiku go on with it. After a while he kept gently combing his fingers through Gilbert's hair, and then he stopped.

Kiku’s hand was in his hair. His leg was under Gilbert’s head. The albino felt a mental twitch upon the realization of how gay they probably looked. He tried to push those thoughts out, because now that he thought of it, Feliciano was the same way with Kiku. They were always really close despite only knowing each other for as long as he knew Gilbert and Feliciano was known to be very affectionate and touchy. Something Kiku normally avoided due to invasion of personal space. He felt proud at that moment because that meant Kiku trusted him.

"Are you asleep?" asked Kiku, quietly, after a short while. Gilbert wasn't necessarily asleep, almost, but not quite yet there.

Kiku moved his hand slightly, twisting in Gilbert’s hair, and repeated his question.

"Mmm?," Gilbert managed to mumble an incoherent thought.

He really didn't want to move. Kiku’s fingers had started rubbing up and down the back of his neck, which was sending little pleasant sensations down Gilbert's spine and Kiku really needed to stop doing that if he didn’t want his friend to seriously fall into deep sleep. The Japanese let out a gentle, huffing sort of laugh, but he didn't take his hand away and that was all Gilbert really wanted. He wasn’t sure when he started enjoying the blissful silence between them, but it was one of his favorite moments between them.

How he could sincerely be himself without having to put an _awesome_ front. How he didn’t have to be somebody else for him to feel confident or wanted. Kiku accepted Gilbert the way he was and admired him so much. It was interesting how they both complimented each other in different areas and respected one another's cultures. Gilbert liked these new and developing habits between them. How they could drift off into pleasant slumber with each other and think nothing else of it—at least until Gilbert realized they were really letting their guard down with each other, but he was probably over thinking it because of his _maybe_ tiny crush on Kiku. He could blame Feliciano for that one, thank you very much. Pushing those thoughts behind once more he drifted back down into his slumber, enjoying the little shivery feelings from the nape of his neck.

The next time he opened his eyes, it was no longer early in the day. The light was going dusk-gold with some hints of orange. Kiku's hand wasn't on Gilbert’s neck anymore. When the albino lifted his head, he realized that Kiku had at some point followed Gilbert's lead and fallen asleep, sort of twisted around at the waist so his head was resting on his arm. Maybe he hadn't wanted to move Gilbert's head, but whatever the reason, it didn't look very comfortable. Gilbert reached out and touched Kiku's soft cheek, a bit reluctant to actually wake him because of how innocent and peaceful, and beautiful he looked— _wait,_ what? Before he could catch himself he noticed Kiku’s eyes fluttered open.

"Hey Kiku, we both fell asleep."

Kiku's face snapped from a rather sweet, sleepy contentment into sudden concern as he rubbed his eyes and eventually fumbled for his phone. "I was going to work a shift in the hospital tonight."

"Oh, is it too late to go?"

Kiku nodded as he stretched, and sat up. "I can’t believe I was that careless… I will make sure to make it up to Mei-san when I see her the next day…”

Kiku was usually very responsible and punctual when it came to work, but he supposed he got _too_ comfortable with Gilbert there.

Gilbert frowned at the unfamiliar name.

"Who's Mei?"

Kiku blinked wondering about the question, he could have sworn he told Gilbert about her. "A fellow nurse up there. She's very kind."

"Oh? Is she hot?" Gilbert smirked getting a devilish look on him.

To that, Kiku pursed his lips. Why did Gilbert always have to ask that?

"Um…" Kiku suddenly looked kind of embarrassed. "Gilbert-kun, that is an inappropriate question. Mei-san is very thoughtful and kind."

"What kind of answer is _that_? Come on Kiku! I was asking about her looks not her personality. Besides, you were thinking about it! I saw that look!" The albino teased.

"Well...” Kiku struggled as a very faded blush came across his cheeks. “She is cute, I suppose?"

His Japanese friend was still looking embarrassed, and something clicked in the back of Gilbert's head. "Oi, did something happen with you and that girl?"

Kiku stared at his hands or maybe the ground, he wasn’t sure which at that point. "No, not really."

_"Not really? Seriously, what kind of answer what that?"_

Kiku sighed. "She asked me out a while ago, but it was probably a joke, and I apologized saying no either way."

"Oh," was all Gilbert could really say because… that part of Kiku always baffled him. He turned that thought over. He'd gotten used to ignoring the little hints of envy by now, but it still seemed strange that Kiku never did anything when girls made moves.

"This is becoming a habit, you know."

Kiku gave his usual deadpan stare. "What is?"

"You and girls. I mean, from when I befriended you to us having the same classes. I noticed you always turned down girls. I don’t get it.”

“Gilbert-kun, you are making me sound like a Casanova… I really don’t get noticed by girls. They were very few that I could count on one hand.”

Gilbert eventually got up to his feet, meeting Kiku’s stare.

"Is it really that _odd_?" asked Kiku. "I mean, that I have not found a girl I want to date?"

If Gilbert were to be honest, then hell to the yes it was odd to him. If he had gotten even a few chances, he would have gone for dating a cute Japanese girl. He had a few crushes here and there before, especially back in Germany where he lived, but none of them reciprocated. So he supposed he was in the same boat as Kiku, except his friend had the opportunities he didn’t.

“Ja… it is.”

Kiku frowned.

“But, I haven’t gone out with anyone, so I guess we’re even kesesese!” He patted his friend’s back playfully.

_Strange indeed…_

* * *

 

The clouds had been dark and menacing all day, but of course they held off on actually raining until afternoon lectures let out. Gilbert felt a sudden drip on his face, and he looked up. _Uh oh_.

"Scheiße! Kiku! Move move!”

The Japanese looked up, and apparently noticed what the albino saw, swollen gray clouds overhead. Gilbert grabbed Kiku's wrist and together they sprinted for the nearest shelter the park offered—some old bandstand. Even over such a short distance, there was enough rain to dampen their clothes and drive any lingering warmth from the air.

"Yuck," said Gilbert, staring at the sudden downpour. "And we have no damn umbrellas."

Kiku sat down; the floor was wooden and did look relatively clean, to both of their relief. Yes, they were both clean freaks to certain degrees.

"I think I will wait the rain out."

Gilbert grinned. "Yup. No shift tonight?"

"Not tonight," Kiku said as Gilbert shuffled sideways, so he was right next to his friend, and leaned against his side.

If the Japanese were to be honest, the type of closeness he had with Gilbert was probably similar to the type he had with Feliciano. He supposed it was why he hadn’t freaked out when Gilbert got too close, or slung an arm around him, or dozed off on his lap or shoulder sometimes. The levels of closeness were actually surpassing Feliciano’s, but Kiku saw Feliciano as a little brother. A younger friend whom he looked out for, while Gilbert was someone he aspired to be like when it came to school and life in general. Maybe not his love life, but everything else yes. But now here they were together being sheltered from the rain as Gilbert rested his body against his. Kiku would be lying if he said his heart wasn’t racing at the moment.

“Sorry Kiku, it’s cold.”

It _was_ surprisingly cold, Gilbert was right, even if it was technically summer. Sharing warmth was probably a good idea—yeah that’s what it was. Why was he getting a bit uncomfortable? Kiku carefully put his arm around Gilbert's shoulders, and felt him wriggle closer.

"It’s fine. It is cold."

“I’m surprised you’re not studying yourself to death though.” Gilbert said as he looked over at his friend.

Kiku faintly smirked. "It is not urgent yet."

Oh? Kiku usually always studied ahead of time. _Interesting_ , thought Gilbert but he said nothing more.

They sat there, staring out at the rain, Kiku’s hair gently tickling Gilbert. Gilbert stared sadly at the grass that surrounded them. So much for being outdoors, he would have loved to be prancing about in the rain but Gilbert was always prone to getting sick easily. Kiku knew this for a fact, hence why he realized he was being silly. Of course it was cold and they needed body heat. It hadn’t helped that a gust of wind sprayed them with an extra blast of rain. Kiku grabbed the strap for his bag with his free hand, hauling it closer so he could dig out his extra shirt. He tried to drape it over both their shoulders, which was kind of awkward until Gilbert edged even closer. He was basically breathing down on Gilbert by that point, but at least his breath was warm, just like all of Kiku.

Kiku was always warm. Everything about him was. He liked it.

"Kiku," Gilbert said quietly after a while.

"Yes?"

"Danke..."

"What for, Gilbert-kun?" Kiku was taken aback by that response.

"I've never had a friend like this. It's been the best thing about moving here, meeting you. I mean I have Lutz and Feli here too, but it isn’t the same." Gilbert sort of hunched into Kiku's side.

He noticed how Kiku was speechless with his eyes a bit widened, wondering if maybe he overstepped a boundary.

"Is it really weird, saying that?" Gilbert frowned.

Kiku gently grabbed hold of Gilbert’s hands. "No, but you yourself can be weird.”

Gilbert gave a weird, choked-sounding laugh into Kiku's collar. He was glad for some type of response.

"What exactly brought about this topic?” The Japanese asked curiously.

Gilbert shrugged, and somehow the motion brought his arm up so that he was nearly cuddling Kiku. "I don't know. Just thinking there's nobody else I could sit here with like this."

"I feel the same." Kiku thought for a moment with a faint smile. "Though, I’m sure Feliciano-kun would be jealous."

Gilbert laughed into Kiku's collar again, and his hand curled around his side. "He gets to cuddle with you way more!"

"I believe Ludwig-san is Feliciano-kun's cuddle partner now." Kiku said in an amused manner.

Both guys were caught up in their conversation that they hadn’t noticed their Italian friend Feliciano and Gilbert’s younger brother Ludwig passing by with an umbrella, a pretty big one if Feliciano were to say so himself.

“Luddy, Luddy! Isn’t that your brother and Kiku cuddling up over there? How romantic!”

“What?!” Ludwig had to squint just to make sure. “Why?” was really the only thing he could have asked.

“Oh Ludwig! You’re so slow.” The Italian said smiling while he looked over happily holding onto his companion.

“Should I offer them my umbrella?” Ludwig asked completely ignoring the _slow_ comment from his partner.

“No no! Let them be! This rain will stop eventually! I can’t wait to hear what happened from Kiku. I wonder if they finally confessed!”

Ludwig’s eyes widened in shock. “CONFESSED? THEY LIKE EACH OTHER?! MY BRUDER AND KIKU?!”

“ _Oh Luddy_ …”

* * *

 

Gilbert’s room wasn’t even as bad as Ludwig had said it was. Kiku actually feared worse. He had been to Gilbert's room a few times before and he was known to be tidy, but this time around he expected something bad. Everything was neatly stacked and things were as organized as they should have been. The only thing that wasn’t in place was the folded pile of _clean_ laundry. It actually didn't take that long working together to put away most of the clothes. Eventually Gilbert put away the last pair of shoes into the closet and looked up to see Kiku sitting on the now clear bed.

"Done!" Gilbert pronounced as he slid his door closed, and then flopped backwards with a triumphant grin to lay next to Kiku.

Kiku softly chuckled. “It wasn’t as bad as Ludwig-san made it seem.”

“Ja… Lutz can exaggerate. I just had to put away my laundry.”

“I suppose he’s a neat freak at heart.” Kiku replied with a small smile.

“Tch, more like OCD at its finest.”

"Maybe, but he did learn from the best.” Kiku pointed at Gilbert.

"That’s true huh?!” The albino exclaimed triumphantly.

They both stared at one another.

"Thanks for helping me out with putting my stuff away. I didn’t get a chance to in the morning because I had to rush over to my statistics class.”

"It is fine. This was nothing. It wasn’t even a mess."

A brief silence between the two passed and Kiku found himself getting more comfortable on the bed when Gilbert asked, “Want to play something for a while?”

Kiku nodded in agreement.

"Wait, wait! Hang on a second, before we do that."

He backed away from the bed a few steps. "Look at me for a second, ja?"

Kiku turned his head, as Gilbert took a quick snap with his phone.

"Haha! Next time I see Mei, I'll offer to bribe her with this."

Kiku gave him a baffled look as he sat up. "With what?"

"This photo of course! She'll be real jealous that you weren’t at her place instead of mine."

Kiku looked unconvinced—as he always did when Gilbert commented on how Mei felt about him—but shrugged.

"If you say so, but I keep telling you it isn’t like that at all. She understands that I do not like her in that manner."

Within the weeks, Gilbert had gotten to know Mei, Kiku’s coworker and classmate. She was a petite Taiwanese girl who was very protective of the Japanese. Gilbert noticed how she really clung onto him. He would talk to his Hungarian friend Elizabeta every now and then through online messenger, but the only thing she’d ever say was, _“You with Kiku yet? What the heck are you waiting for? That Taiwanese girl is going to snatch him away.”_

It was quite frustrating because he’d say that before Kiku, before coming to Japan, Elizabeta had been his best friend, but also childhood crush. Being away from her did suck, but he knew she’d be coming to visit eventually and he prayed that she didn’t make things awkward for Kiku or him.

They played some good old Marvel vs. Capcom and Tekken games that Kiku had bought in a fit of nostalgia a few weekends previously, and of course Gilbert wasn’t even surprised when Kiku kicked his ass good. Gilbert would counter back with, _“Well you have to at least be better than me at something. I can’t be awesome at everything!”_

After Kiku went home, Gilbert flipped open his phone and looked at the picture he'd taken earlier. Kiku was sprawled comfortably on Gilbert's bed, his shirt ridden up slightly at the waist and his hair slightly out of place here and there. He was looking just past the camera, at Gilbert, and his expression was a bit embarrassed but had that fondness on it that Gilbert knew all too well and... really the word that came to mind was, _unguarded_. Kiku looked calm and unreadable most of the time, and you could tell he'd just gotten good at faking politeness. The genuine kind of happiness he showed in the photo wasn't something he often showed anyone for that matter. You had to be trusted.

Gilbert closed his phone, thoughtfully. So maybe he wouldn’t show anyone that photo. It became much more valuable than he thought.

* * *

 

“Wait, so you guys went through all of THAT and still haven’t told each other how you feel?” The green eyed brunette looked dumbfounded.

“What?! Lizzie! I’ve been telling you he’s become a really close friend. He doesn’t even like me that way.”

“Gilbert, you and I never did that kind of stuff.” Elizabeta said crossing her arms over her chest.

“Ja, but you’re a female…” The albino gave her a deadpan stare.

“And he’s a male…” She said smirking.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. “So? This is Japan! And I would have done this with Feli.”

Elizabeta narrowed her eyes. “Because you’re protective of him and you could say the same about your younger brother Ludwig! You’ve always been, but you can’t say you see him the same way you see Kiku. You two are inseparable from the way you always yap away about him! You keep bringing up that one girl from his job too like you’re trying to convince yourself you’d be happy for him if they got together.”

“What?” Gilbert was speechless after that because maybe… it was a defense mechanism of his? To always bring her up? To prepare himself?

“You can’t deny you like Kiku in another way. Ever since you moved to Japan and got to study here you’ve been the happiest that I’ve ever seen you.”

“Oh yeah? Well Roderich’s too much of a pansy for you!”

Elizabeta snorted and laughed at the same time. “Oh my god. Gilbert Beilschmidt you’re in such denial it’s cute!”

“Do not call me cute woman! At least say awesome, ja?”

“Not until you make a move.” She grinned. “So when do I get to meet him? I’m staying here for some good months for a job offer.”

Gilbert gaped at this. He wasn’t sure whether he was happy though he had really missed her.

“What about Roderich?” The albino asked in shock.

“He still has work in Germany. I’ll be going back after my job though.”

“Will he even survive without you? The guy gets lost so easily and is a mess when he’s by himself.”

Elizabeta giggled. “Believe it or not I’m paying someone to look after him.”

Gilbert obnoxiously laughed. He’d surely never the Austrian forget about it. 

* * *

 

"Gilbert-kun… take your shirt off please."

"Yeah, yeah,” said the albino, already yanking it up over his head, and sitting down. "I know. So who told you I was here?”

"Elizabeta-san did..."

"Lizzie?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow.

So they had met?

"Yes... she's a very nice friend. Why hadn't you introduced her to me?"

Gilbert said nothing in return.

He was bruised, and there was no point in pretending otherwise. After his chat with Elizabeta, he’d thought a lot about his own feelings and wondered if maybe denial wasn’t the best route to go? It also hadn’t helped that rumors were going around the campus that Mei and Kiku were going out not to mention the last time he saw those two together was at a celebration party for Mei on passing her exams. He’d gotten to know her a bit since Kiku introduced them. She was a very nice and bright girl. Elizabeta even approved. She was really cute too. He couldn’t see why Kiku wouldn’t just go out with her. Ah, so that was the main issue that was eating away at him.

The cherry on top was that some older students on campus started bothering Elizabeta during her visits to see Gilbert. Elizabeta had told him to stop being an idiot, that they could call someone higher up to stop the harassment or she'd just show them to respect her. So maybe he’d gotten into an unnecessary fight, but seriously, why did it feel like he was in high school again? University was supposed to be a more mature atmosphere. Why did some people have to be so rude? They were all there for a common goal and strangers trying to cat call and be gross towards his childhood friend was just not acceptable. Kiku knew Gilbert was a good person and wouldn’t just be out fighting whoever he wanted. It wasn’t like Gilbert. Gilbert liked helping people. So he didn’t ask any questions when he found the albino bruised up because Elizabeta had already briefly explained. He wondered why the green eyed brunette hadn't stayed though.

Kiku crouched in front of him and drew his breath in, running his fingertips lightly over the bruised area. It spread from Gilbert’s collarbone, down his chest and onto his rib cage. It didn’t help that his pale skin made the bruise look darker. It hurt, especially as Kiku's fingers touched his ribs. Gilbert bit his tongue on a yelp.

"I think I have some cream that can help, hang on."

Kiku dug out a tube from a drawer, squeezed out something that smelled antiseptic and started rubbing it purposefully into Gilbert's chest.

Sometimes, Kiku acted like everyone's mother, and Gilbert really wasn't in the mood for it that day. He grabbed the tube, and batted Kiku's hands away. "Hey, I can manage. It's fine."

"Oh." Kiku looked slightly startled. "Alright."

He stood up, and started fiddling with his phone instead, as Gilbert worked the greasy paste into his skin.

"Uh," said Gilbert, still looking down at what he was doing. "So, hey, are you and Mei…?"

"What about me and Mei-san?" Kiku asked with both eyebrows raised as he took his attention away from his phone.

"You're dating, right?"

There was no response, and Gilbert looked up. Kiku was holding his phone, and staring down at the floor.

"It's okay—I mean, congratulations! You're with _Mei_. She’s pretty cute. I mean it was bound to happen right? You both have similar classes and work together in the same field of study." The idea _stung_ in a way he wasn't really going to analyze too closely, but still, his close friend was dating a genuinely smart and cute girl. How awesome was that?

"I'm not dating her." Kiku sounded like he was picking his words very carefully. "It isn't like that. She told her manager we were because he has been in love with her for some time now, and she was afraid of getting fired."

"Huh. But I thought—during the party and stuff, no? And she was always cuddling up to you and flirting. I just kept supporting you guys—"

Kiku shook his head, and put his phone away. "No. She's a great girl, but she's not my girlfriend. She's a good friend, that is all."

"Oh. Sorry to hear that." And he wanted to be sorry. Gilbert told himself that. The rush of relief was not something he should have felt.

Kiku tilted his head to one side, opened his mouth as if about to reply, and then closed it again. Instead, he perched on the end of the sofa, his feet on the seat next to Gilbert. He peered at the albino’s pale back. "You've cut your shoulder."

Gilbert twisted to try and see what Kiku was talking about.

"Here," he said, running a finger down Gilbert's shoulder blade. It sent weird sensations along Gilbert's nerves. "I don't think it's too deep, though."

Kiku ran his finger back up to where he started, almost idly and then spread his hand out flat on Gilbert’s back, over the area he had stroked. "Sorry."

"I'll live. Besides, what are you saying sorry for? I was the dumbass who went and tried to be cool," said Gilbert, wiping his hand on his pants. He shifted a bit, hoping Kiku wouldn't take his hand, his _warm_ , soothing hand away.

Kiku’s hand drifted up to Gilbert's neck, gently rubbing. It felt like an absent-minded motion, but really nice.

"Have you been thinking I've been dating Mei-san since the party?"

Gilbert bent his head forward, encouragingly. "I guess so."

"You could have asked."

"I just did," he said instead, closing his eyes. "Does she know you're not dating her? I mean you know how those fake relationships work…one day you just fall in love and—"

Kiku laughed, softly. "Of course. She's just being her usual affectionate self. And have you been reading too much shoujo manga lately?”

Gilbert opened his eyes, reluctantly. He was leaning into Kiku's caress, his head bowed until it nearly rested against Kiku's knee. He sat up hurriedly, reaching for his shirt. "Uh, I should probably head home. Lutz is probably worried.”

That was a lie, but the amount of comfort he felt—it was so tempting to make the wrong move and—

Gilbert leaned forward after putting his shirt on and he pulled Kiku against him, into a hug. For a moment Kiku's face was pressed against Gilbert's collarbone, the scent of whatever citrus scented soap Gilbert used filling his nose. Kiku repressed the urge to press his nose deep into Gilbert's shirt and inhale—dear god, that would have been too creepy, even for Kiku. He gently patted Gilbert’s head.

"I'm not a dog you know. I like the petting, but could you just hug back for now?” Gilbert said, softly, speaking down the back of Kiku's neck. The breath seemed to travel down Kiku's spine in a shiver, and it took a moment for him to actually concentrate on what Gilbert had _said_. And then another confused moment for him to connect the fact that Gilbert had looked relieved about him not dating Mei.

"Yes I could...”

Kiku didn’t care about the why anymore. He indulged into the hug with rosy cheeks and all.

Gilbert drew back slowly, as if ending the hug, and then paused, their faces so close that Kiku could see those radiant crimson red eyes.

“Nice hug.” He smirked.

Kiku smiled, feeling a sort of nervous fluttering in his stomach. Why did this feel so different from usual? He was comforting Gilbert, so why did it feel like something else?

Gilbert leaned forward. His lips, dry, cracked, nearly brushed against Kiku's cheek, as he spoke.

"I’ve been thinking that… maybe you and I…"

They sprang apart guiltily, as they heard a loud vibrating ringtone coming from Gilbert’s pocket.

Kiku tried looking elsewhere trying to hide his flushed face, and Gilbert looked over at his phone cursing something in German, eventually grabbing his bag so he could head home.

And that night, neither of them were able to decently sleep. Kiku wondered what Gilbert was going to say and the albino thought he would have made the worst  mistake in his life. Maybe Kiku should have spoken to someone about this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the last chapter for this 30 day will be the continuation of this story. I'm going to school next week... so I might be able to finish this :')...


	30. Day 30 - Doing something hot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of last time. 
> 
> *eyebrow waggle* 
> 
> This eventually leads to NSFW so if you don't like the dirty then I suggest you stop reading lol.

“Mei-san?”

“What is it Kiku?” The Taiwanese looked over at her friend who had been reading his patient’s chart for the past five minutes. Night shift was usually slower than day and morning shifts, but…

“Is a patient giving you trouble?” She raised an eyebrow. “If so, you tell me and I’ll go—”

“No, no. Nothing like that!” Kiku gestured frantically. “Would I be able to confide in you about something, after this shift of course?”

Mei softly smiled at him. “Of course Kiku! I’ll be happy to help. You’ve helped me so much already, it’s the least I could do.”

Mei got used to Kiku’s presence as a friend. She liked Kiku because he was different and respected her as a person. That’s all she really asked for from people so could she really be blamed for trying at first with him? It wasn’t like she was madly in love with him. She had someone else occupy that spot...

After their night shift was done with Kiku was able to tell Mei about his _situation_ and he wondered if maybe her interest in his personal life was a warning sign.

* * *

 

Of course the girls had other plans because heck, their love lives were all settled. Mei did want to help Kiku, she did, but she also knew Kiku was a private person. He didn’t go around telling everyone about his problems. She already had a hunch Gilbert Beilschmidt was the one giving him problems. Heck, from the first time she met him at her party she noticed his clear jealousy at her holding onto Kiku’s arm the whole time. He’d even go as far as to say he was the Japanese’s favorite person. That was probably the second red flag she saw and then came to the realization that her ex-crush and his best friend were crushing on each other like oblivious idiots out of a shoujo romance manga, _fucking fantastic_.

That was when Mei made her move to befriend Elizabeta, who had been staying in Japan and they clicked really well once they came to the instant agreement of Kiku and Gilbert being gay for each other.

“He said what?!” Elizabeta’s eyes widened as her jaw slightly dropped.

“Kiku thought Gilbert was going to _kiss_ him because of how close he got to him.”

“Gilbert said he was going to confess, but geez he left out that part.”

“What?! Why didn’t it happen then?” Mei replied with clear disappointment in her furrowed eyebrows and frown.

“They got interrupted by Ludwig’s call…”

“Oh… mister Ludwig…” Mei face palmed.

“I had a talk with him and Feliciano. I’m so tempted to just talk to Kiku… but I haven’t had the chance ever since I got here… and Gilbert scolded me telling me to not butt in—that this was his business.” Elizabeta pouted. “So I’ll let it be,” she said begrudgingly.

“Hey, wait… you said Gilbert was prone to getting sick often right?”

“Yeah, so what’s up?” Elizabeta gave a curious glance at her Taiwanese companion.

Elizabeta looked at the gleam of mischief in Mei’s eyes and for some reason felt a rush of excitement as well. Oh _hell_ , she really liked this friendship.

* * *

 

"Feeling better?"

"Mm," Gilbert said, propping himself up against the side of the sofa.

"That’s good." Kiku nudged the table closer with his foot, and set the bowl of miso soup down on it. "Careful, that's still hot and you are only to take small sips. You've not eaten properly in days from what Ludwig-san has told me, so your stomach might be a bit sensitive."

Gilbert grinned cheerfully up at him. "Thanks, _nurse_."

The albino still couldn’t believe _Elizabeta_ had told Kiku he’d gotten sick. He had honestly expected Ludwig to tell him. If there was anyone he didn’t want near Kiku it was _her_ , but he supposed he could thank his friend just this once. Kiku had been spending the night over at his place for some days so it was pretty nice company.

"Shh, you. I am just making sure you don’t vomit." Kiku lowered himself down to sit next to Gilbert with a faint blush on his cheeks.

Gilbert peered at Kiku’s own bowl. "Okay, I get why _I_ have boring food, but why isn’t yours awesome?"

"In case the aroma irritates you." Kiku said thoughtfully.

"Oh." Gilbert grinned mischievously again. "You must _really_ think I'm going to throw up then."

"It’s a possibility."

"Oh? Alright, I’ll be careful then, _nurse_."

Gilbert took a slow sip of soup afterwards while Kiku frowned at that last taunting comment.

“Where have Ludwig-san and Feliciano-kun been lately?” Kiku asked looking around.

"Oh, well they’ve been busy with their own projects. Lutz and Feli-chan have been leaving me liquids and left over food but I—” Gilbert stopped himself before continuing up again. “It just didn’t sit well with me.”

Kiku said nothing but merely nodded taking into account his friend’s feelings.

Gilbert shuddered, and then leaned on Kiku's shoulder. " _Hey_. Thanks for showing up to check up on me and spending the last few nights with me too.” It must have been the fever because Gilbert’s cheeks were starting to heat up. “Lutz and Feli-chan are nice, but it isn’t the same. I can tell they’ve wanted to spend more time with each other lately and I feel like the third wheel, but they still let me in on their plans.”

Kiku froze as soon as he felt Gilbert leaning on his shoulder. Did he have to be so _close_? He already struggled with his friend being extra affectionate and needy when he was sick not to mention delirious from his fevers. Kiku hesitated for a second, but then put his hand on top of Gilbert’s in reassurance. Part of him was remembering when he had told Mei of the situation and the first thing she said was, _“So you’re together then? I mean the subtle touches here and there… the familiarity and comfort… not minding the extra gayness, you know?”_

_Gayness?_

That wasn’t the first thing Kiku thought of because well, it felt natural.

_Uh oh._

He still hadn’t forgotten because that word, _familiarity_. It was perfect for describing their relationship. As for being gay, Kiku never really put thought into it. If he found someone attractive, he found them attractive, which was actually the opposite mindset that he was raised with.

"Can you... come and stay over, again?” Gilbert asked timidly, which was different than usual but Kiku found it endearing.

"I can stay tonight, if you want. You'll have to loan me something to sleep in, though. I came right after class to check on you."

Gilbert gave him a side eyed look, and his cheeks turned a light shade of red. "If I told people how easily you just agreed to sleep with me—"

“Gilbert-kun, please!” Kiku pleaded at the embarrassing and perverted statement.

“Well… if they heard you say that right after then I don’t need to say more, do I?”

Kiku hid his face in embarrassment but soon after retaliated by pinching Gilbert's shoulder. That simply elicited a chuckle from the albino.

* * *

 

Feliciano arrived halfway through dinner and was amazed at how much healthier Gilbert looked than he had the day before. He also informed Kiku and Gilbert that Ludwig had apparently fallen ill as well and he’d be staying at Feliciano’s for a while, since Gilbert had Kiku there to look after him. Feliciano gave his full blessing to leave them alone for the night after that. Kiku couldn’t believe what had been said though. He didn’t need a blessing!

Eating, even slowly, seemed to take a lot out of Gilbert. It took him a while to struggle up the stairs to the bathroom afterwards, though he brushed off Kiku's offers of help. Afterwards he stayed upstairs while Kiku joined him, and they watched some anime until Gilbert started to doze off against Kiku's shoulder.

The Japanese rolled out the futon, aware of his friend watching him blearily from the sofa, and then helped Gilbert stumble from the sofa around to the futon. They kind of collapsed together in a heap, and it took a moment for Kiku to free himself enough to get up and switch off the light. He wondered if they were going to follow the same pattern…

Gilbert always went the extra mile and the last time they were actually spooning each other. The first night was instantly comfortable for the albino, like he had been waiting for his chance—for the situation to arise—how their bodies molded perfectly together in the futon, but Kiku was so nervous that he had only slept a few hours. It had become habit during those delirious moments, those vulnerable moments, they were getting dangerously close, and overstepping those boundaries they had as two friends. Hence why Kiku had started avoiding coming over _too_ often, but damn him for caring!

Gilbert wrapped himself around Kiku when he got back under the cover.

" _Mm_. Too warm…" Gilbert muttered under his breath.

Kiku had to agree. The albino's skin was alarmingly hot and just a _bit_ clammy. He resisted the urge to cringe away, and instead put his hand on the small of Gilbert's back, where Gilbert's shirt had ridden up. The albino made a content noise.

" _Mmm_."

Kiku needed a break. This was going to be the end of him.

"Does that _feel_ good?"

"Ja. Hang on," said Gilbert, and twisted around, sitting up a bit, and then pulling his shirt off.

_Oh god, why…?_

Kiku drew back, faintly alarmed; cuddling was one thing, but shirtless? And then Gilbert was curling around his friend again, pulling Kiku's arm back around him to plaster it against his spine. "You're cold and it's the _freakin’ best_."

Kiku faintly smiled. He was glad that he could at least be of some assistance, but dear lord the heat Gilbert was producing. Kiku freed his hand from the other's grasp, and felt his forehead.

" _Gilbert-kun_ … I thought you were feeling better."

"I am." The albino appeared to consider this statement for a moment after saying it, but then nodded firmly. "I really am. I promise. I'm just a tiny bit warm."

Kiku was starting to sweat in sympathy because that wasn't convincing at all. He pushed back the covers, and Gilbert made a pleased sound along with a wide grin.

"Is that better?"

Gilbert sighed contentedly, and tightened his arms around Kiku again. "Mm, feels just right."

Kiku cautiously put his hand on friend's back again. Gilbert shivered, and then turned so he was lying on his back. Kiku almost let his hand slide to the other’s side—that soft pale looking stomach, part of him wanted to touch, touch the burning skin, and send tiny little tingling sensations to Gilbert— because it wasn’t fair of how he was being taken advantage of. How Gilbert could easily have him, compared to Kiku who hesitated to cross that line. Besides, his friend was ill. He was not going to cross any lines tonight so he kept still until he’d know for certain that Gilbert would be asleep.

Kiku had miraculously dozed off after hearing light snoring coming from the albino. He hadn’t woken until he felt a very warm hand lightly touch his stomach where a very small fraction of his shirt had been lifted. He thought maybe he was dreaming? Maybe he was still in non REM sleep. It felt ghostly almost, a trace of warm touches, sending sparking sensations to his whole body. Gilbert's hand seemed to continue moving almost of its own accord, moving up towards Kiku's shoulder instead. Gilbert's skin was absurdly heated, and a little sweat-damp, and maybe if it wasn’t his own temperature or touch—it’d probably be his sweat that would wake the other up. Kiku had always been lean, but he always had just the right amount of muscle to fill him despite his short stature. He let his fingers drift sideways and lower into Kiku’s lean muscles. He dreamily tried to map the patterns on the Japanese's skin.

Despite it being weird—being _touched_ so gently, experimentally almost, Kiku couldn’t help but let it happen. He knew he was still lazy and half asleep and maybe he’d snap out of it and ask Gilbert what the hell was going on because everything got weirder when he was delirious off his fever. Kiku felt fingers tracing his cheek bones and eventually hesitating to touch any further. Kiku _almost_ let out a disappointed sigh.

The next thing Kiku heard made him want to crawl back into a hole or just pinch himself awake.

Gilbert sighed and whispered next to his companion, "Kiku, I _like_ you. Like I'm supposed to like girls, only... it's you this time and you’re obviously not a girl. And I'm tired of pretending there’s just friendship between us. You’ve reacted to every light touch since we started sleeping together and I stopped before I started tracing your lips because I wouldn’t want to do anything we’d both regret..."

Okay, did Gilbert Beilschmidt seriously put _everything_ down on the table while Kiku was supposed to be sleeping? Did the albino seriously think that was okay? Kiku didn’t know whether to be upset or simply laugh out loud—the kind of laugh that was saying, _“What the actual hell, are you stupid?”_

Kiku took a deep breath before opening his eyes and frowning at his friend. Gilbert was taken aback by this because part of him wanted Kiku to be awake and another wondered if maybe he’d just play it cool and pretend he never said those words.

“If this was your way of confessing, _try again_ once you’re well enough. I refuse to accept any of this when you are delirious, hot, sweaty, clingy, and touchy!” The Japanese said sternly and huffed turning around.

_Clingy?!_

Gilbert was impressed and the only reaction to that which he had was laughter, really hard and raspy laughter because Kiku Honda, despite being soft spoken and a push over at times just completely blew him off and pretty much told him to _try harder_. Which made him smile to himself because that meant he had a chance right? Totally did.

Kiku simply snuggled his back up to Gilbert's side along with hoping his reddened cheeks and fast pacing heart wouldn’t give him away. He whispered a quick, _"So hurry up and get well, okay, Gilbert-kun?"_

Gilbert took his hand, and slid his fingers between Kiku's, despite feeling the Japanese briefly flinch at the action, _somehow_ they both managed to fall asleep with all the new thoughts buzzing around their heads. Gilbert now had some nice motivation that was for sure.

* * *

 

Gilbert was back in school. Kiku hadn't gone over to his place, not since _that_ night. They'd had a handful of awkward moments because while Mei promised to not butt in, Elizabeta was another story because surely something happened between those two and they weren’t letting her in on anything. Mei had become an accomplice, they were convinced. Gilbert had simply heard an anxious Kiku tell the Hungarian female nothing big happened and she had made soft noises of suppressed disappointment. The other news was that Feliciano had taken wonderful care of Ludwig. He had fully recovered by the end of the week.

Kiku was right there in school when Gilbert slid into his chair just before their East Asian History class started. He wasn't sick any more, that was for sure.

Gilbert leaned forward and said, "Hey Kiku."

The Japanese turned his head, and looked over his shoulder with a faint smile. "Good morning Gilbert-kun."

"Hey will you be free later?"

Kiku nodded.

Gilbert took a breath. "I might stay late… if that’s alright?"

Kiku blinked a bit, not expecting that answer, but he merely returned to his usual expression.

With warmth displayed in his expression he simply said, "Of course."

Mr. Wang chose that moment to enter the class, and Gilbert inclined back in his seat to try and quell the sudden flurry of nervous butterflies in his stomach.

Walking to Kiku's house didn't make the nervousness any worse. Instead, Gilbert felt calmer the closer they got, until by the time he was kicking off his shoes he felt like he'd actually attained some sort of serene state of certainty and relaxation. He was going to confess to Kiku, and maybe they’d kiss—right? And it’d be _awesome._

Gilbert and Kiku set their bags down and Kiku opened the fridge. "Would you want a beverage or snack?"

"Nah, I'm good." Gilbert noticed the sudden tension on his friend. After a while he ventured, "You alright?"

Kiku's head was still in the fridge, but his shoulders sort of visibly tensed. "I…"

"Kiku?"

The Japanese emerged, holding a bottle of milk tea that Gilbert would bet money he'd just grabbed at random. "I'm fine."

Gilbert suddenly realized that Kiku was nervous as he approached him a bit closer. Kiku, who usually wasn't fazed by anything, was _nervous_. "Listen, I'm not going to just make moves without talking first. I like you Kiku, but I’d like to get your permission first before doing anything out of line."

Kiku inhaled shakily, and then let it out in a shaky chuckle. "Ah, gomen..."

"Hey it’s alright, no need to apologize." Gilbert put out his hand, and Kiku took it hesitantly, looking bashful.

_How cute._

"I simply thought that maybe… it was all a delusion from your fever but—”

"I meant it, I _like_ you." Gilbert pinched his hand, firmly.

“I… also feel the same… I was simply afraid that because of our comfort as friends it wouldn’t be the same after—”

“You kidding me? It just makes things extra special and fun. We have the advantage here. We know each other pretty well… but…” Gilbert sheepishly scratched his head."I don't know where to begin."

He was too happy to hear Kiku say he felt the same— _holy shit Kiku liked him too_?

"Me neither... I mostly know that people go on dates, but everyone is different.”

"Hm." Gilbert gave him a dubious look. "We _could_ but we could also skip it and just go for that first kiss, you know, the one I _might_ have given you that night," Gilbert said, hoping he hadn’t sounded lame as he pulled Kiku forward and stared at him shyly waiting for a response before actually doing it.

Kiku looked adorable with his eyes shut already anticipating a kiss, with his lips quivering, but when nothing happened, when he simply felt warm puffs of breath hitting his lips he immediately opened his eyes to find a smug looking Gilbert.

“You never told me that I could kiss you though.” He stated so matter of factly that Kiku could have just smacked him over the head.

The Japanese bit his lip and whispered, _“Please, just kiss me.”_

And he finally did.

Kiku immediately put his arms around Gilbert's neck, and Gilbert felt the weight off his chest lift easily because Kiku was kissing him back, enthusiastically, and while it wasn't going to go down in history as the most elegant kiss ever, it was still _amazing_. Mouths were truly _awesome,_ especially kisses when they were with people you desired. Kiku had his few experiences with kisses and they were pretty unsatisfactory. Gilbert would be able to say the same, because it honestly just felt wet and awkward, but _this_ —this was different. As soon as they connected it was like every nerve in their body was thrumming in response to such action.

Kiku broke the kiss pretty quickly though, pulling back and warmly smiling—more so than usual. Actually, that was probably the first time. _Oh_ , Gilbert would certainly have fun bringing out more emotion out of his partner.

"Will you stay the night…?” Kiku timidly asked.

"As long as you let me, I will.” Gilbert grinned back. "I’ll send a text to Lutz so he won’t wonder if I’m alive or dead.”

Kiku merely mused at the sudden enthusiasm.

* * *

 

It was strange. It wasn’t like Kiku had been expecting things to just escalate, but he would be lying if he said he had never ever thought of Gilbert as attractive, because he was. _Oh, yes he really was._ He had just been an expert at how to keep any wandering thoughts to himself because friendship and respect always came first. But Gilbert always easily kicked down his walls, and there they were… being timid in the exchange of cautious touches _at first_.

Kiku had never been so _comfortable_ with casual touches, but he’d admit that with Gilbert he'd nearly stopped noticing them but now every time the albino's hands grazed his skin it felt like he was leaving heat trails behind.

And Kiku wouldn't keep his hands still. First they were tangled in Gilbert's hair, then they were under his shirt, and then there was a confused tangle of limbs as Gilbert's shirt was just pulled off entirely because Gilbert had swiftly taken Kiku’s shirt off while the complaint was, _“Gilbert-kun it isn’t fair if I’m the only one shirtless”_. Then the hands were back in his hair while clutching at his arms. It made Gilbert's skin tingle all over, which was perfect, but it made it hard to concentrate on kissing. Eventually Kiku rolled on top of Gilbert, grabbed Gilbert's hands and pinned them firmly above his head, against the arm of the sofa.

In all honesty, Kiku wasn’t using much force to begin with, and they were both aware that Gilbert was physically stronger—but god Kiku looked so damn good on top of him, taking charge, letting loosing, having actual fun being himself. He was like another person compared to his usual composed self.

"Oh _damn_ ," Gilbert murmured while Kiku brought him into the next kiss, and somehow he moved his legs so that one of his thighs was pressed up against Kiku's erection. If Gilbert had been distracted by the sensation of Kiku's touch before, it was nothing compared to how Gilbert kept rolling his hips, until Kiku released Gilbert's hands and pushed himself backwards hurriedly.

"Ugh, we should…go slower…” Gilbert sucked in a deep breath. "Or I won’t last any longer…”

Kiku gave him a look and _dear god_ , he looked _sexy_ , now that Gilbert was allowing himself to register that as an actual thought, with his hair tousled and his firm but soft chest with those sweet looking nipples on display along with his face flushed—

“You could simply bathe here… and I still have some spare pants you had left weeks ago…”

Gilbert merely nodded slowly, while Kiku’s lips curved into something that mirrored a smirk. Either way, it made Gilbert lean in and he kissed Kiku again, gently, and _god_ the way Kiku just willingly sank back into the kiss was everything he wanted out of life at the moment.

He opened his mouth, felt his partner’s tongue against his own and it was enough to make him dizzy, his whole body hot and almost _electric._

Gilbert sat up more on the sofa. His hands wandered upward, palms against Kiku’s ribs, fingers lightly touching perky nipples as his tongue licked at the roof of Kiku’s mouth, and Gilbert felt the slight vibrations of the noise his partner just made against him. Gilbert took his tongue away as Kiku leaned back the tiniest bit to lick at Gilbert’s lips, and kiss at the corners of his mouth. Gilbert returned the actions, kissing at Kiku’s jaw; teeth captured his earlobe before he allowed his lips to wander to the other’s neck, kissing at the increasing pulse, sucking at the skin there to leave his own mark.

The noise that came from Kiku’s throat was like music to Gilbert’s ears, even more when Kiku said his name.

_“Gil-bert-kun…”_

Gilbert chuckled low. He clearly understood the pleasure coming out of that so he pressed his lips against Kiku’s neck, sucking at the skin _again_. It was a moan that Gilbert heard next as he licked at the marks he made, nervous but also excited because _holy shit_ , this was getting hotter and he was turning Kiku on. Gilbert had his hands on Kiku’s hips, and then pressed their pelvis’ together—it was then he realized that Kiku was as _hard_ as he was.

It was Kiku’s turn to hear a moan when he rubbed the bulge in his pants against Gilbert’s, and it was painful when their hipbones made harsh contact, but Gilbert figured it was okay as they were both panting, and the beginning smells of sex and sweat and _need_ were in the air, going through their heads, muffling their senses.

Gilbert heard Kiku’s own small panting and escaped words of _Gilbert-kun, more, there n-needs to b-be m-more—_ and soon they were both thrusting and rubbing against each other, cocks hard and much too hot within the confinements of their pants. Neither of them wanted to stop, especially Kiku, though he couldn’t bring himself to stop his hands from gripping Gilbert’s to a pause. He shushed him with kisses when Gilbert complained that he was almost close and trailed his lips to Gilbert’s untouched skin to leave invisible marks.

“Slide down your pants,” and Gilbert gave out a muffled moan as he did what Kiku asked of him completely missing the other sliding down his own pants, small gasps and groans that soon turned into moans left his lips as Kiku wrapped his fingers around both of their cocks.

“Move, thrust your hips.” Kiku instructed him, breathless, and Gilbert did this too, biting the insides of his cheeks to suppress the moan that surfaced at the tingling, overly-sensitive feeling he got at the skin-on-skin contact from their cocks rubbing together. It seemed to increase tenfold when Kiku began to move his hand as well, which Gilbert highly appreciated.

“K-Kiku, that’s—”

The laugh that left Kiku’s mouth was breathless and strained, and Gilbert felt it against his neck and shoulder, felt teeth grazing the pulse there and soon he felt Kiku sucking at the skin this time.

Kiku groaned, the thrusts of his hips becoming more and more frantic as Gilbert felt heat bubbling in the pit of his stomach, and Gilbert was glad to feel that Kiku was becoming more frantic, too, the speed and twists of his hand becoming more profound and careful, seeking out release, and—

“ _Gilbert-kun_ , are you _close_ …?”

“I-I’m close… _Scheiße_ —Kiku, I’m close, _Kiku_ —” and Gilbert pushed his forehead against Kiku’s own as he reached climax, his cum spilled on Kiku’s cock, his exposed stomach from when Gilbert had already stripped him off earlier of his shirt and the albino couldn’t stop himself from grinning. He immediately felt Kiku’s lips against his, felt the throbbing of the other’s cock against his own exposed one.

What Gilbert did next was on impulse and although his movements were hesitant and shy at first, he trailed his hand downward, fingers circled around Kiku’s cock, thumb grazed the tip and he moved his hand from how Kiku did from before, a small twist of his wrist and his hand slid downward—upward, downward and again easily, Gilbert’s own cum acted as a lubricant.

Kiku gave a long moan when he came—and dear god, it really was music to his ears because Kiku Honda was never as exposed as he was being that night and Gilbert was pleasantly surprised to find that his partner also arched his back the tiniest bit, bit at his bottom lip too. He couldn’t help but stare when Kiku finally settled onto the other side of sofa. Gilbert leaned forward to kiss at Kiku’s face, discarding the fact that one of his hands had cum on it as he trailed them upward to touch Kiku’s face once more. If Kiku noticed, he hadn't bothered to mind.

A few good minutes passed in silence as Gilbert settled himself more comfortably on top of Kiku, both seemingly unaware that their lower halves are still exposed and their mingled cum was causing them to stick together at the stomach. Their palms were against each others, fingers interlocked and thumbs grazed soft skin as the silence lingered on. Again, they were unaware or perhaps uncaring that Gilbert’s hand had been soiled.

“That was…” The albino started.

“Good.” Kiku finished the sentence for him.

“Yeah… and _wow_.” Gilbert said taking in a breath.

“Yes…” Kiku nodded in agreement.

“I can’t believe we couldn’t go to your room for that though.”

The Japanese softly chuckled after because it wasn’t like either of them were planning to have a romantic night cuddling in bed naked or something—maybe they would after a nice shower.

* * *

 

Kiku was in a frantic cleaning frenzy and it was one of the cutest sights— _wait_ , Kiku always did cute things, according to Gilbert. Honestly, the place was spotless and Feliciano and Ludwig wouldn’t have suspected a thing. They had this thing going on for a while now, their relationship. Elizabeta and Mei already suspected the two had become a pair, but Kiku didn’t want the extra attention so Gilbert complied with secrecy.

"Oi, Kiku everything’s clean now… stop.”

"But—"

"No buts. C'mon, sit down! I'll make you some tea this time. _Carefully_ ," he amended, at Kiku's badly-concealed flinch at the idea of any kind of disruption of the perfect orderliness of the kitchen.

Kiku looked around, as if desperate to find something else to fuss over.

Gilbert sighed, and forcibly turned Kiku around and began untying his apron strings. "Honestly, Feli-chan could care less about this stuff and my bruder would be too happy to see this place spotless. Neither of them live here anyway!” He slid his hands around Kiku's waist, under the apron, in a hug. "Stop worrying, will you?"

Kiku leaned back into the hug shyly, and then turned his head and shoulders so he could kiss Gilbert. He was happy that Kiku had been able to initiate kisses when they were alone. He liked being taken by surprise. It made Gilbert's heart kind of skip that Kiku would just kiss him like that, so easily.

"I just don't want them to think... you already stay here very often—what about your brother? Ludwig-san would probably think wrongly of me!"

"Don't be ridiculous! You're responsible as hell and we’re not doing anything wrong. We’re two grown men who are good friends. Besides… Lutz would probably think I’m corrupting you not the other way around. Kesesese!” Gilbert pulled the apron up and off over Kiku's head, and bit his tongue before he said anything else, like teasing words to get the other riled up.

"Go on, sit down," he said instead, and shoved Kiku gently towards the kotatsu.

Internally, Gilbert was just ready to yell at everyone that _yes_ , Kiku Honda was his _partner_ and yes they had really _sweet_ or just simply _dirty mind blowing_ sex. Kiku was sweet and timid, but dear lord during intimate moments he was so much more attentive and willing to take the initiative that it gave him _goose bumps_. Okay, he wouldn’t say the second part, but he wanted to show off. Admittedly, it'd only been a week and a half of their relationship and it only really existed within the bounds of Kiku’s house because outside of it, they'd been acting as if nothing had changed. Which was great and all, but if they were public, he’d be able to do all the extra stuff in his room too and not have to make excuses to his brother!

Besides, things were getting frustrating when people would keep coming to visit Kiku. First it’d be friends from his classes, then Mei would just pop by and joke around by saying his place smelled like sex. The result of that was a very embarrassed Kiku assuring Mei that, _no, they did not have sex, what would make her think that? Take that back the place was spotless._

They really hadn't had much of a chance to get any guaranteed alone time after their first intimate moment together. They had the odd chance to kiss here and there, but neither of them had dared escalate things much in case the doorbell rang.

Nobody actually turned up at the door that day, but they kept _expecting_ company which was a mood killer. They watched the television idly, legs tangled together loosely under the kotatsu, and even that made Gilbert feel kind of shivery at the contact. Meanwhile, Kiku's phone beeped and trilled with messages regularly enough to make Gilbert first alarmed and then very amused.

"Everyone just suddenly wants your attention huh? I remember when it’d mostly be You and me, but suddenly we’re actually together and your friends are alive”

KIku glanced up from his phone and made a face. Then he glanced down again, and turned his phone off. "I think it's late enough that I can excuse myself to bed."

Gilbert grinned. He liked the sound of that. "As long as nobody comes knocking at your door in a panic when you don't answer." He joked.

Kiku shuffled sideways, closer to Gilbert. "If I'm lucky, I'll be too distracted to notice or care."

"I don’t know if I should let you be _that_ lucky. Our relationship just started," said Gilbert, and then bit his lip. "Uh. _We_ are dating, right?"

Kiku chuckled, "I hope so," his expression slightly stiffened. "I told you to _try harder_."

Gilbert poked his side and Kiku immediately jumped at the contact.

“Don’t worry… I’ll get some experience.” The albino winked suggestively and Kiku shoved Gilbert sideways, blushing lightly. The albino just laughed and pulled Kiku down on top of him into a kiss that yanked all of Kiku's thoughts firmly out of embarrassment and into a burning need to get the other's shirt off as soon as possible.

"Mm," said Kiku feeling up Gilbert’s chest and— _oh_ , when Gilbert’s eyes had pure lust in them… that _killed_ him.

Then there was fumbling of shirt buttons and more passionate kisses with light moans from the bucking of hips until loud frantic knocking interrupted their moment.

“Oi! Keeks! You alive?! Heyyyyyyyyy! You there?! I see your light on!”

Kiku immediately climbed off Gilbert and began fixing himself, making himself presentable.

“Fick mich! Why?!” Gilbert groaned and he knew he’d get smacked for this eventually, but he had to. _He just had to._

“Alfred, I swear if that’s you, don’t come back. Kiku is alive and well and we were going to have a very nice time exploring each other in depth and you seriously need a new texting buddy or a girlfriend or boyfriend, not sure, whatever you want really, I don’t care.” Gilbert growled, thankful that the walls were paper thin because it meant Alfred could easily listen.

“Oh! Exploring each other in depth? Sounds fun! Mind if I join?” Alfred beamed and Gilbert could almost feel some bile coming up his throat because, that little shit _wasn’t leaving_. He was still outside, simply peeking through a window.

“I don’t like sharing now go away!” Gilbert shooed with clear irritation.

“Huh? I thought you were talking about psychology or something else—”

“It’s _sex_ Alfred, _sex_. Even Kiku could say the word without flinching—OW! KIKU?! Why’d you throw a shoe at me! Ow!”

* * *

 

 

Yes, the next day on campus all of Kiku’s friends knew thanks to Alfred letting them know without even trying. Elizabeta and Mei were flooding them with embarrassing questions because _how dare you not share details with your close friends? Now you owe us because we set up the situation perfectly,_ and women were devious alright. Ludwig could only warn Kiku that Gilbert was a closet pervert, and the albino simply gaped because, “ _Excuse me?! He’s more perverted than I am!”_

“Care to explain the details?” Elizabeta squeezed between the brothers with a pen and paper while Kiku grimaced.

“Yes, please do.” Mei nodded in agreement sneaking up behind Kiku and poking him.

Kiku jumped in surprise and muttered, “This is why I didn’t want this happening…!”

“Ve! I’m so happy for you two!” Feliciano rushed through the halls to tackle Kiku into an embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omgomgomgomg.
> 
> I am finally done with this 30 day challenge and I can't believe I did it on prupan. This is probably one of my most accomplished "challenges" that I've ever done. I'm honestly really happy I finished this even if I didn't do them every single day. I'll maybe continue to write more prupan throughout the year. I don't know, but you can't say I didn't write much because this hit like 90k words total lmao. Probably the most I've written for a pair/fandom to be honest. I never thought I'd be this deep into a pair that the English fandom doesn't even acknowledge but here I am. Anywho, I'll for sure finish my already started one shots that I had written out for prupan. Anything new after that not so sure. 
> 
> So thank you to whoever actually read these and genuinely enjoyed them. 
> 
> Bye.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my OTP... how I love THEE. Anyway, I will try to update these as often as possible but I doubt I'll do these every single day. It's a challenge yes but I am using this more as a way to practice and write whenever I have time for them. (Exams make me cry) I also have other separate fics I am writing for them too. 
> 
> Oh and also don't expect consistency on the length of these writings. I will probably try to keep it short but they may turn long... I have the tendency to do this... *SIGH*


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